Oakes v. State

• Decision Date: 09 October 1946
• Docket Number: 15577.
• Citation: 39 S.E.2d 866,201 Ga. 365
• Parties: OAKES v. STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

39 S.E.2d 866

201 Ga. 365

OAKES v. STATE.

No. 15577.

Supreme Court of Georgia

October 9, 1946

Syllabus by the Court.

The evidence was insufficient to support the verdict finding the defendant guilty of rape, and the trial court erred in refusing a new trial.

Tommy Oakes, who was jointly indicted with Luke Carter, was convicted of rape. His motion for a new trial was overruled, and to this judgment he excepted.

The State's evidence tended to show the following facts: On February 14, 1946, the prosecutrix, who was twenty-six years old, came to Atlanta with her husband. He had just been discharged from the Navy and made the trip to purchase civilian clothes. They registered in a hotel on Pryor Street and after they had been shopping and the husband had changed from service to civilian clothes, they left the hotel late in the afternoon and rode in a cab to a cafe on Ponce de Leon Avenue. While there eating sandwiches and drinking beer, they were approached by Carter, who jointly indicted with the defendant Oakes. Carter recognized the prosecutrix's husband and introduced himself and Oakes. Both defendants sat down at the table with the prosecutrix and her husband. Oakes and Carter produced a bottle of whisky, began drinking, and offered the prosecutrix and her husband a drink, which was refused. Later Carter offered to drive them back to their hotel. The parties left in a cattle truck with Oakes driving. They had proceeded four or five blocks when Oakes stopped at a place called Campus Castle. Everybody got out of the truck and went inside. The prosecutrix and her husband drank coffee; the defendants had several drinks of whisky. When they left Campus Castle, Oakes and Carter were drunk. The prosecutrix's husband suggested that he be permitted to drive the truck. All four of the parties got into the driver's seat of the truck, with the prosecutrix sitting in the lap or between the legs of Carter. The prosecutrix's husband drove back to the hotel without being involved in any sort of accident. He stopped the truck in front of the hotel, got out and went around on the sidewalk to open the door for his wife.

Occurrences thereafter are related by the prosecutrix as follows 'When we got to the hotel my husband got out and went around to open the door for me to get out, and when he did that, Oakes went under the steering wheel and he started off and it all happened so quick, and Mr. Carter shoved me over in the middle like that, and I started screaming and he cussed me and said, 'You do that one more time and I'll kill you,' and he drawed his cane back, walking cane, and he said, 'You're not getting out of here,' and he drove on and he started to make a stop, I don't know where. I don't know anything about Atlanta, and when he started to make the stop I screamed and he run over two or three more stop lights, and he just kept going, and they had this bottle and they started trying to make me drink out of the bottle, and I would just put it up to my mouth and wouldn't drink any, and when he found I wasn't drinking Carter slapped me, and he grabbed me by the leg and the print of his finger is on my leg. I don't know where we went. It was supposed to be Stone Mountain, and when we went in we set down--well, every once in a while along the way, I don't know how much, I wouldn't drink much when I did drink, maybe five or six times I did that. They started to slapping me and that's the only thing I could do and they was holding me. Yes, I was afraid, and I reached over Carter and tried to open the door and he started cussing me, and he said, 'If you do that again, I'll put you out here where nobody can find you,' and that's when I was scratched. Carter held me. These cuts right here with their finger nails, and one place there on my hand. I started trying to get out of the truck, force my way out, and I couldn't do that, and when we got to the edge of town, I said, 'My husband will have the cops on you,' and after we got to Stone Mountain we set down at this bar and one was on each side of me, and they give this boy a bottle of whisky and he poured out three glasses almost full, about that much in the glass, and they had my hands on each side of me holding them like that, and was after me to take a drink, and I said, 'How do you think I am going to drink and you holding my hand?' and they turned my hands loose, and I knocked the glass over, and so I saw a man over there with a badge on, and I said to him, 'Please take me away and lock me up or do something,' and he said, 'Sober up, sister, and you'll be all right,' and so I ran out the door and they ran after me and caught me and pulled me back in the truck, and so they went on and I didn't say much more to them, and I begged them to take me home, and they said, no, they wasn't taking me home. I didn't know where we was going, but we came over a dirt road and the first place I recognized was Williams Drug Store down here, and we went on out to a house, and they took me out and when we got in there they set me down in a rocking chair and they poured out a drink and tried to make me drink it, and I wouldn't do it; and so they went back in the kitchen and poured a glass of something and brought it back in there and said, 'Drink this,' and I said, 'I'm not drinking anything,' and so Carter got behind me like this and held my head back like this, and Oakes had my mouth this way and he poured it down me. And there was three men in the house and a girl, and they was all in bed, and they said, 'Get out of bed,' and the girl never did get up out of bed. No, I didn't see whether she was dressed or not, just those three guys in bed. They was naked. I don't remember anything after they poured that stuff down me. I remember looking at this bed, and one guy was getting in bed with this girl, and I don't remember anything after that until the next morning about daylight when they made this stop light at Pig and Whistle and I was in the back seat of a Ford Car. Mr. Oakes was the only one with me then. I was in the back seat of the car and we was at Pig and Whistle, and he drove over to the Campus Castle. This is the same place I had been in the night before. So we went in there and I had a cup of coffee and I asked this Mr. Wright, or whoever the owner of the place was, did he have a wash room where I could wash the blood off of me, I had blood all over me, and he said, no, he didn't. We drank the coffee, and he was very nice at the time, and so we got in the car and I asked him would he stop at the Greyhound Bus Station, for I knew Uncle Otis worked there, and I thought I could get away from him there, and we went on down to the bus station and I went into the rest room and stayed two or three minutes and washed my face and hands and came back out, and Mr. Oakes was standing at the door, and he grabbed me by the arm and said, 'Come on, and I'll take you back to your husband,' and when we got in the car, he said, 'Are you going to say anything about it?' and I said, 'No,' but when I got near the hotel I said, 'You guys will pay for this,' and I got out and run into the hotel and my husband was calling the patrol. * * * I don't remember anything after I went down to Mr. Oakes's house and saw those people there until I told you I got back in Atlanta. I didn't have intercourse with Mr. Oakes in Atlanta after I came to myself at the Pig and Whistle the first time. If they had it, it was before that time. I don't remember any intercourse I had any time.'

On cross-examination the prosecutrix testified: in part, as follows: 'We didn't stop any place before we got to Stone Mountain until we drove in that place at the foot of Stone Mountain. There was several customers in there. I remember seeing two ladies. They were customers, and there was some men in there. I did make alarm that I was being imposed on. I went to this guy that had a badge on him and asked him to help me, and he just laughed when I asked him to help me, and he said, 'Sober up, sister, and you'll be all right.' I didn't talk with those ladies there. I didn't talk to the men that run the place. The only thing there was some other guy standing there, and I said, 'Please call the cops for me,' and he laughed and said, 'You're in Stone Mountain,' and I started crying, and Carter caught hold of me, and I ran up out the door and I was still crying. They put me back in the truck. We came over a dirt road to Lawrenceville. We didn't stop anywhere along that route. We didn't have car trouble and no motor trouble. They didn't give us a drink. They poured it down me. Carter walked behind me and caught hold of my head and mouth, and Oakes poured it down me. I hollered. When these guys started getting out of bed, I started running and when I got to the door the door was locked, and they caught me and brought me back in there and set me down in this rocking chair, and that's when they fixed me up. I had taken a drink at Stone Mountain. They poured out a glass and give it to me to drink and I knocked it over. It was the next morning about Pig and Whistle in Atlanta when I come to myself. * * * I remember going to Wright's place where I was the night before. I was conscious then. I didn't eat anything; I drank a cup of coffee. After we left that place Tommy Oakes drove me by the bus station, It was daylight when we got to the bus station. There was two girls in the rest room, and I asked them would they go out and call the cops for me, and they went out and I didn't see them any more. No, sir, I didn't see the ticket man, and when I walked out of the place Mr. Oakes said, 'Come on, and I'll take you to your husband,' and we went on and he said, 'Are you going to tell your husband?' and I said, 'No.' I did not stay around the station at least thirty...