State v. Jones

• Decision Date: 10 February 2016
• Docket Number: No. 50,270–KA.,50,270–KA.
• Citation: 188 So.3d 268
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee v. Marion Dale JONES, Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

188 So.3d 268

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee

v.Marion Dale JONES, Appellant.

No. 50,270–KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

Feb. 10, 2016.

Rehearing Denied April 7, 2016.

Carlos D. Prudhomme, Ian Wesley Taylor, for Appellant.

John Schuyler Marvin, District Attorney, John Michael Lawrence, Charles A. Smith, Robert Lane Pittard, Alexandra Aiello, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before CARAWAY, LOLLEY, and CALLOWAY (Ad Hoc), JJ.

CALLOWAY

, J., Ad Hoc.

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Marion Dale Jones, was convicted of aggravated rape. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On July 1, 2007, at approximately 1:30 a.m., 11–year–old R.W.¹ was asleep on the couch in her mother's house when she awoke to find a man on top of her. The man pulled her shirt up and licked her breasts, then pulled her shorts and underwear down and licked her vagina. R.W. pushed the man off of her and ran into the bedroom of her older sister, Y.W. The man peeked into Y.W.'s room and then left the house. At the time of the incident, the girls were alone in the house with their two younger cousins, as their mother had gone to a friend's house. The girls called the police and their grandmother, who lived several houses down the street from them.

When the police arrived, R.W. and Y.W. identified Terrence Lattin, their neighbor who lived across the street from them, as the suspect. He was arrested, but DNA evidence later excluded him as the suspect. The DNA candidate sample was then placed in the Combined DNA Index System ("CODIS"), and it returned as a match for the defendant. On July 28, 2008, the defendant was charged by bill of indictment with aggravated rape.

The following evidence was adduced at trial, which began on October 21, 2014.

Kelly Cubley, who was a detective in the Juvenile Division of the Bossier City Police Department in 2007, and who is currently a nurse, testified that she was contacted the day after the incident. Cubley arranged for R.W. to be interviewed at the Gingerbread House. Cubley further testified that she later contacted Lattin, who was the only suspect at the time, while he was in jail. Lattin did not confess, vehemently denied his involvement in this crime, and denied knowing R.W. Lattin also told Cubley that a man driving a white SUV knocked on his door the night of the incident. Cubley testified that approximately three months later, the DNA test excluded Lattin, and he was released from jail.

Cubley testified that she subsequently developed another suspect, the defendant. On July 9, 2008, she interviewed the defendant, and he volunteered to submit to DNA testing. During the interview, the defendant also admitted that he lived a few blocks down the street from R.W., and that he drove a white SUV. When Cubley asked the defendant about the DNA match, he said that he did not remember, and that he did not know why his DNA was found.

Detective James Stewart, a sergeant in the Violent Crimes Division of the Bossier City Police Department, and currently the Deputy Chief of Police, testified that he assisted Cubley with the defendant's interview that took place on July 9, 2008. Stewart further testified that during the interview, the defendant stated, "I'm not denying it; I'm not saying I didn't do it; I'm just not going to talk about that." The defendant opted not to give a taped statement. Stewart also testified that on the night of the incident, he transported R.W. to the hospital for a sexual assault examination.

Detective Tina Smith, who was a patrol officer at the Bossier City Police Department at the time of the incident, testified that on July 1, 2007, she was dispatched to 1116 McElroy Drive, located in the Barksdale Annex area of Bossier City, regarding a man entering the house and touching a juvenile. When she arrived at the scene, she encountered four black females, including R.W., Y.W., and their grandmother, Helen. Smith was told that the suspect was a dark-skinned black male, 5'6? to 5'8?, thinly built, and that he was wearing a red hat and a white T-shirt.

Smith testified that she also observed the suspect at the time, Lattin, who was standing outside his home, several houses down from R.W.'s house. Lattin was not wearing a shirt or a hat. Smith went to Lattin's house, and he informed her that he had been in his house the entire evening. Lattin also said that a black male wearing a red hat and a white T-shirt had come to his house and knocked on his door earlier that evening.

Smith obtained consent from Lattin's girlfriend, April Clark, to search the house for clothing that matched the suspect's description. She stated that a white T-shirt was found in a bedroom between the wall and the bed, and that a red hat was found in another bedroom on top of the trash bag. Clark told Smith that Lattin was wearing a red T-shirt and a grey hat that day. Smith then transported Lattin to the victim's house in her patrol unit. R.W. and Y.W. identified Lattin as the suspect.

Brad Kalmbach, a crime scene investigator for the Bossier City Police Department, testified that he responded to the scene and collected evidence. He identified pictures that he took of R.W.'s house, including pictures of the couch in the living room where the assault occurred, the hallway, the bedrooms, and the window in the bedroom that was found open, which was believed to be the point of entry. He also processed the victim's house for fingerprints, but did not find any usable prints. Kalmbach also testified that he contacted Lattin in jail and obtained a DNA sample from him.

Lattin testified that he did not sexually assault R.W., that he maintained his innocence to the police, and that he submitted to DNA testing. He also testified that on July 1, 2007, he was at home with Clark, when a man wearing a red hat and white T-shirt, driving a white SUV, knocked on his door and asked for a woman whose name started with a "D." Lattin told the man that the woman did not live there and the man left. A few minutes later, he saw police lights and opened the door. He was then arrested and charged with aggravated rape.

Lattin also testified that he had been to the K.W.'s house earlier that day, and that he smoked a marijuana blunt with her mother. However, he stated that was the first time he had ever been in K.W.'s house, and that he was not even aware that young girls lived there. He further stated that after they smoked, he went home for the evening.

Tabitha Ward, a sexual assault nurse examiner, testified regarding the July 1, 2007, sexual assault examination she conducted on R.W. The examination included the collection of DNA swabs from the victim for the perk kit, as well as the application of a dye marker to R.W.'s vaginal area. Ward testified that she observed dye uptake in the region between the vaginal and anal areas, which is an indication of an abrasion in that area.

R.W., who was 18 years old at the time of trial, testified that on the night of the incident, she was asleep on the couch after going to a wedding with her family. She stated that she woke up to a man pulling up her shirt and licking her breasts. She stated that the man then pulled down her shorts and underwear and licked her vagina. R.W. asked the man who he was and he said, "You know me, your mama know me too." When she was able to get away from the man, she went to the restroom, and then to Y.W.'s room. The man peeked in Y.W.'s room and asked her why she wouldn't come back, but R.W. didn't answer. R.W. further testified that although she identified that man as Lattin the night of the incident, she didn't get a clear look at the man because it was dark in the house. R.W. stated that Lattin was at her house earlier that day with her mother.

Y.W. testified that on the night of the incident, she was asleep in her bed when R.W. came in her room. She asked R.W. what was wrong and R.W. said, "You know the man down the street." Y.W. then saw a man wearing a red hat and a white T-shirt peeking into her room. She called her grandmother, who immediately came over. They then called the police. Y.W. testified that she also identified the man as Lattin that night, and that he had been at her house earlier that day with her mother.

The transcript of DNA analyst Lauren Arihood's testimony was read at trial by Michelle Vrana, the DNA supervisor for the North Louisiana Crime Lab. Arihood, an expert in forensic DNA analysis and testing, and who was currently employed as a CODIS Auditor Biologist for the FBI at the time of trial, testified that she previously worked at the North Louisiana Crime Lab and performed the DNA testing in this case. The crime lab report was admitted into evidence and published to the jury. Arihood stated that she tested the bite-mark/breast swab and the external genitalia swab obtained from R.W.

On October 23, 2014, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged of aggravated rape. On December 30, 2014, the trial court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

The defendant appeals.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Insufficiency of the Evidence

On appeal, the defendant argues three counseled and two pro se assignments of error. In both his first counseled and pro se assignment of errors, he argues that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support an aggravated rape conviction. The defendant contends that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that on July 1, 2007, he entered R.W.'s house and sexually assaulted her.

When issues are raised on appeal, both as to the sufficiency of the evidence and as to one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should first determine the sufficiency of the evidence. The reason for reviewing sufficiency first is that the accused may be entitled to an acquittal under Hudson v....