Shrader v. State

• Decision Date: 28 July 1970
• Docket Number: No. 408,408
• Citation: 10 Md.App. 94,268 A.2d 257
• Parties: Eddie Wayne SHRADER v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

Page 94

10 Md.App. 94

268 A.2d 257

Eddie Wayne SHRADER v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 408.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

July 28, 1970.

William C. Miller, Silver Springs, for appellant.

James L. Bundy, Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom were Francis B. Burch, Atty. Gen., William A. Linthicum, Jr., State's Atty., and Andrew L. Sonner, Asst. State's Atty., for Montgomery County, on brief, for appellee.

Argued before MURPHY, C. J., and ANDERSON, MORTON, ORTH and THOMPSON, JJ.

MORTON, Judge.

In this appeal, Eddie Wayne Shrader, appellant, contends that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain his convictions by a jury in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County of assault with intent to murder, armed robbery and two separate kidnappings for which he received a total sentence of 25 years imprisonment. He does not contest his conviction of perverted sex practice for which he received an additional five years imprisonment.

The record indicates that on February 4, 1969, at approximately 1:45 in the afternoon Shrader and a co-defendant, James Leo Taylor, gave a ride in their automobile to Stephen Lodge Cochran, a 16-year old youth who was hitchhiking from the District of Columbia to Montgomery County. Upon arriving at Cochran's destination, they refused to let him out of the car which was being driven by Shrader, and Taylor thereupon 'turned around with a knife', according to Cochran who was in the back seat, 'and said something to the effect, that I was going to ride along with them further.' After driving north into Montgomery County for about fifteen minutes, the car was stopped and Cochran was forced, at knifepoint, to hand over all his money which turned out to be 90 cents. When they demanded that he get some more money, Cochran directed them to a friend's house 'in the hopes that I would get some money and be released.' Upon arrival at the friend's house, Shrader went in and got the friend while Taylor 'held a carpet knife on-in my side.' The friend could produce only $2 and 'what was supposed to be some marijuana' which he gave to Shrader.

In an effort to sell the marijuana they then proceeded to the home of a 17-year old girl whom Cochran had recently been dating and Shrader went in and told her that Cochran wanted to see her. She came out and entered the back seat of the car thinking Shrader and Taylor were friends of Cochran and not realizing that he was being held captive at knifepoint. When the young girl was unable to comply with the demand for $10, they drove off with Cochran and the girl still in the car. After continuing to drive north for a considerable time, they stopped at an 'abandoned farm house' and Taylor forced the young lady to enter it with him while Shrader compelled Cochran to stay in the car. According to the young lady, when she resisted going into the farmhouse, 'Shrader said if I kept it up, he would kill Steve. He said this either once or twice during the whole afternoon. He said he wanted to kill me too, but then, after Taylor repeated it several times, I got out of the car with him.' During the twenty minutes Taylor and the girl were in the farmhouse, Shrader forced Cochran to commit an act of fellatio and immediately thereafter Shrader committed an act of sodomy upon Cochran.

Upon leaving the farmhouse, they proceeded to drive back to the girl's home and permitted her to leave the car upon her promise not to report their conduct to the police. By this time 'it was dusk.' When they drove off, according to Cochran, 'I asked that was going to happen next, and Mr. Shrader told me to shut up and hit me with the palm of his hand' whereupon Cochran got the door of the car 'part way open, and Mr. Shrader pulled me back into the car * * * by my arm and by my left thumb, which he broke.' After being pulled back into the car, 'I was hit several times on my head and my face * * * by Mr. Shrader with his hand, and then he turned my face up and hit my nose and broke that.' Thereafter, 'we drove along further, and I believe I tried to get out of the car one more time, and during this, he had been-Mr. Shrader had been telling me to take my clothes off, and after he broke my nose, he pulled my pants off, and my boots were off, and I tried to pull myself out of the car again, and he held me down on the seat and took out a different knife, a long thinner knife, and cut my throat', resulting in a four-inch incision.

In the meantime, according to Cochran, 'Mr. Taylor had been saying that they should-that they should get rid of me because I was constantly opening doors and things, and it was going to get them caught * * * (a)nd said something like, 'Why don't you kill him." Shrader then proceeded to 'cut my shirt off with his knife' and in the meantime 'Mr. Taylor said that he wanted to pull off the road and stop so that he could beat me some because all he had been doing is driving. The car stopped and Mr. Taylor jumped out of the car and ran around to the other side, and Mr. Shrader said just stay where I was, and you know, not to get excited, and Mr. Taylor pulled me out of the car and hit me once, and I started to run, but trees and things got in the way, and he caught up to me, and he hit me.' At this time the only clothing worn by Cochran was 'a pair of socks and a medallion around my neck.' When Taylor hit Cochran again, Cochran was able to escape by running to the nearest house where he was able to telephone the police.

Shrader and Taylor were apprehended several hours later and in a statement given to the police, Shrader confirmed, in all its essential elements, the testimony of both victims.

It is contended that the kidnapping convictions should be set aside...