State v. Jimenez

• Decision Date: 14 December 2011
• Docket Number: No. 2009–336–C.A.,2009–336–C.A.
• Citation: 33 A.3d 724
• Parties: STATE v. Carlos JIMENEZ.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

33 A.3d 724

STATE

v.Carlos JIMENEZ.

No. 2009–336–C.A.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Dec. 14, 2011.

Virginia M. McGinn, Department of Attorney General, for State.

Paula Rosin, Office of the Public Defender, for Defendant.

Present: SUTTELL, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, ROBINSON, and INDEGLIA, JJ.

OPINION

Chief Justice SUTTELL, for the Court.

The defendant, Carlos Jimenez, appeals from a judgment of conviction on two counts of first-degree sexual assault. The defendant had been accused by his sister-in-law, Mary,¹ of sexually assaulting her while she was too intoxicated to resist. The defendant raises three issues on appeal. First, the defendant argues that the trial justice erred in denying his motion to suppress the oral and written statements he made to the police. Second, the defendant asserts that the trial justice should have granted his motion for judgment of acquittal on the count alleging vaginal/penile penetration. Third, the defendant maintains that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial.

This case came before the Supreme Court pursuant to an order directing the parties to show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not summarily be decided. After considering the parties' written and oral submissions and reviewing the record, we conclude that cause has not been shown and that this case may be decided without further briefing or argument. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.

IFacts and Procedural History

On February 29, 2008, a grand jury indicted defendant on two counts of first-degree sexual assault. Count 1 charged defendant with vaginal/penile penetration with Mary while knowing or having reason to believe she was physically helpless, and count 2 charged defendant with cunnilingus with Mary while knowing or having reason to believe she was physically helpless. Before trial, defendant moved to suppress all the oral and written statements he had made to police officers. The motion was denied, and a jury trial commenced on May 28, 2009. The pertinent evidence adduced at defendant's trial is as follows.

On July 14, 2007, defendant and his wife held a party at their home. Mary testified that she “got drunk” after consuming approximately one glass of wine and six or more shots of tequila. The defendant's wife, Ana Jimenez, testified that she believed Mary had consumed “one too many” and asked Mary to stop drinking because she was acting inappropriately. This “inappropriate” behavior included dancing and flirting with various men at the gathering, including defendant. Mary testified she had no memory of dancing or flirting at any point at the party; however, she admitted she is unable to remember parts of the evening.

Mary exhibited the extent of her intoxication later in the evening when she fell in the kitchen, resulting in her splitting her lip and chipping her tooth. By this point Mary was unable to stand on her own, so Mrs. Jimenez helped her downstairs to the basement to let her sleep on a couch. Mrs. Jimenez testified it was difficult to situate Mary “because she just plopped” on the couch and “was just moving * * * all over the place, making it difficult * * * to adjust her.” After getting Mary situated, Mrs. Jimenez placed Mary's two-and-a-half-year-old daughter on the couch with Mary. Mrs. Jimenez said that she took Mary's sandals off her feet, but left her fully clothed, wearing a green shirt and jean shorts; she did not cover Mary with a blanket because it was a hot July night.

Mary testified that after falling in the kitchen, her next memory was lying on the couch in the basement unaware of how she got there. She described herself as lying on the couch feeling “helpless” and “all weak.” She also testified that the next thing she remembered was defendant coming downstairs. Specifically, she stated: “I remember him kneeling on the floor, and * * * shifting my legs toward the side of him, and I remember him raping me while my daughter was crying.” Mary attested that defendant took her shorts off, but she was not sure whether her panties also were pulled off at the same time, and that then he moved her legs toward the floor, where he was kneeling. She remembered defendant then placing his penis inside of her.² When asked what she was doing during this time she testified that she was “just helpless” and “couldn't move” because she was “so drunk.” Mary said she had no memory of what happened immediately after the intercourse. Mary testified that she woke up the next morning without her shorts on and “remembered what happened.”

The defendant testified, through an interpreter, in his own defense and told a markedly different account of what occurred in the basement on the night of July 14, 2007. He said that at one point in the evening he went to the basement “to get some music.” He testified that after grabbing a few CDs, he heard someone ask who was there. He answered and, upon moving closer, realized it was Mary.³ He asked her what it was that she wanted and, according to defendant, Mary responded by grabbing his hand and sliding it toward “her intimate parts.” Construing Mary's action as “an invitation,” defendant pulled down her shorts and panties and kissed her “on top” of her “intimate part.” According to defendant, he then stopped because he realized he was doing something that was “not correct” and did not want Mary or himself to be in trouble with his wife. He testified that at this time he stood up, pulled up her panties, and covered her with a blanket. He stated he did not put her shorts back on because Mary told him “no” and to “go upstairs.” The defendant further testified that Mary never told him to stop or tried to push him away, and that he never took his shorts off or put his penis into Mary's vagina.

On July 16, 2007, Mary went to her mother's apartment between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Mary testified that she started to cry and then told her mother that defendant had raped her. Her mother “went ballistic,” called Mrs. Jimenez, and requested that Mrs. Jimenez and defendant come to her apartment immediately.

As soon as Mrs. Jimenez and defendant arrived, defendant's mother-in-law “punched” him several times and Mary accused him of raping her. According to Mrs. Jimenez, Mary was “yelling out of the top of her lungs” for defendant to be honest, and she said that she knew “he did it.” Mrs. Jimenez continued to testify that defendant initially denied Mary's allegations, but after “a couple times of asking, he admitted that he had taken off her shorts.” Whereupon, Mary immediately called the police.

Officer Salvador Sanchez of the Cranston Police Department testified to having received a call from dispatch for “a possible sexual assault which had turned into a disturbance.” Officer Sanchez was accompanied by Officer Robert Santagata when he arrived at the purported disturbance. Officer Sanchez testified that upon entering the bedroom area of the apartment, Mary “immediately yelled and pointed to [defendant] * * *, yelling that he had raped [her].” At that point, Officer Sanchez escorted defendant to the living room to speak with him alone and to give Mary an opportunity to speak with Officer Santagata.

In the living room, according to Officer Sanchez, defendant was “quiet [and] calm,” but was pale and looked as if he had been crying. Officer Sanchez, in English, asked defendant “what had transpired” and defendant responded, with his eyes focused on the floor, that “he didn't do anything.” Officer Sanchez continued to question defendant about what happened and several times defendant repeated he had not done anything. Mrs. Jimenez then entered the room and yelled at defendant in Spanish to tell Officer Sanchez “what he had confessed to them.” Officer Sanchez understood what Mrs. Jimenez was yelling because Spanish is his “primary language.”

After Mrs. Jimenez confronted defendant, defendant informed Officer Sanchez that he went down to the basement to retrieve some CDs and had pulled down Mary's shorts, but he “had not done anything to her and walked out of the basement feeling guilty.” Officer Sanchez testified that he then asked defendant whether he had touched Mary, and that defendant “nodded his head saying yes” in response. Officer Sanchez asked defendant what he meant by nodding his head and defendant responded that “he had not done anything wrong.” At this point, according to Officer Sanchez's testimony, Sergeant Alan Loiselle ⁴ instructed Officer Sanchez to suspend questioning of defendant and take him into custody. Officer Sanchez then handcuffed defendant and took him to police headquarters. The defendant was fingerprinted, photographed, and then placed in a cell “to await the arrival of detectives.” Officer Sanchez testified that up until that point defendant had not been informed of his rights.

The defendant later was brought into an interview room adjacent to the cellblock.⁵ Present in the interview room with defendant were Officer Sanchez, Detectives Peter Podedworny and Craig Pieranunzi.⁶ Officer Sanchez was dressed in uniform and Det. Podedworny in plain clothes. No firearms were present in the interview room, and defendant was not handcuffed. Officer Sanchez read defendant his rights in Spanish.⁷ The defendant also read each right out loud. After each right was read, Officer Sanchez asked defendant whether he understood that right, and if he stated that he did, defendant was to indicate as much by marking his initials. Officer Sanchez testified that defendant answered “yes” when asked after each right if he understood what he was reading. The defendant initialed each right and signed the form stating he understood his rights and that the police had not made any promises or threats. After the rights were administered, defendant was asked whether he would be willing to speak with the detectives, and he responded that “he would cooperate and speak with them.” Officer Sanchez and...