State v. Rieger

• Decision Date: 05 January 2001
• Docket Number: No. 98-322-C.A.,98-322-C.A.
• Parties: STATE v. John R. RIEGER.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

763 A.2d 997

STATE v. John R. RIEGER.

No. 98-322-C.A.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

January 5, 2001.

Present: WEISBERGER, C.J., LEDERBERG, BOURCIER, FLANDERS, and GOLDBERG, JJ.

Jane M. McSoley, Aaron L. Weisman, Providence, for Plaintiff.

John A. MacFayden, 3rd, Robert E. Craven, Providence, for Defendant.

OPINION

LEDERBERG, Justice.

This case came before the Supreme Court on appeal from a Superior Court judgment of conviction in which the defendant, John R. Rieger, was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon. The defendant contended that the trial justice erroneously denied his motion for a new trial or alternatively, his motion for judgment of acquittal. He further argued that the testimony by police expressing an opinion on the defendant's truthfulness and the testimony by the state medical examiner concerning ballistics were erroneously admitted into evidence. After considering the defendant's arguments and carefully reviewing the entire record, we deny the appeal and affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.

Facts and Procedural History

On February 5, 1995, a bizarre series of events occurred after an unfortunate chance encounter between one Russell Chatelle (Chatelle) and defendant, which resulted in a shooting that inflicted serious injury upon Chatelle. The facts are undisputed, except for the circumstances immediately surrounding the shooting. Chatelle spent most of the afternoon at Pete's Pizza Plus in Coventry, Rhode Island,watching Jean Claude Van Damme movies and drinking beer. By the time defendant arrived, Chatelle had consumed a full pitcher that held just under five twelve-ounce cups and had just ordered a sandwich and a second pitcher. Earlier that afternoon, defendant had watched a movie with his wife while drinking two beers. The defendant, accompanied by his wife, then drove to East Greenwich around 3 p.m. to make a security check and start the furnace at Chronomatics, a family-owned metallurgics business where he was employed. He carried a licensed .380 pistol, as was his habit when delivering precious metals or performing checks at the business. After driving his wife back to their house, defendant left to photograph the sunset while drinking three beers. Around 6 o'clock in the evening defendant proceeded to Pete's Pizza, where he consumed a sandwich and another beer. After watching television for a while, defendant sat down with Chatelle, who ordered beers for both of them. The men, strangers before their chance meeting, struck up a conversation that continued for several hours, and they also engaged in repeated arm wrestling until the owner of Pete's halted this activity and refused to serve them more beer. The pair eventually left together between 9 and 9:30 that night, continued their conversation in defendant's truck in the parking lot while drinking beer that defendant provided, then drove to Chatelle's house, after first making a stop at Chatelle's brother's house. Chatelle's house was described by both men as cold, dark, and extremely untidy. The men drank more beer, which defendant fetched from his truck, and after Chatelle had checked his answering machine, he invited defendant to see the upstairs of the house.

From this point, Chatelle's account of that evening's events diverged from that of defendant. According to defendant, Chatelle showed him his seventeen-year-old ex-girlfriend's brightly-lit room with a waterbed on which were dozens of stuffed animals. The defendant testified that he began to feel uncomfortable about Chatelle, declined to see his bedroom, and decided to leave the house after firstusing the bathroom. He further recounted that while relieving himself, Chatelle looked "directly into [defendant's] groin area" while flushing the toilet, and then patted defendant's buttocks. The next memory defendant recalled was of lying in Chatelle's kitchen, lifting himself on his elbow, and hearing Chatelle claim to have been shot. After applying pressure to Chatelle's wound with his palm, defendant, while searching for some material to fashion a tourniquet, told Chatelle to call 9-1-1 and press down on the wound. After returning to Chatelle, defendant overheard him report the shooting on the phone. The defendant left after Chatelle told him that he had called his brother who was on his way to "blow [defendant's expletive] head off." Back on the road, defendant overheard reports on his scanner that police were at his home, so he decided to drive to his parents' house instead. On his way there, he emptied his gun of all bullets and threw them into the woods. Upon arrival at his parents' house, defendant was arrested.

In his different account of the later events of the evening, Chatelle testified that he showed the stuffed animal collection to defendant because he was proud of his skill in winning them from a crane machine. Both men returned to the kitchen where they continued to converse and drink beer. After calling his cat inside, Chatelle suddenly noticed that defendant "had a gun on the table." Chatelle testified that defendant handed the gun to him, encouraged him to "check it out," then returned it to his pocket, after which Chatelle asked defendant for a ride back to Pete's Pizza parlor. Chatelle testified that defendant refused this request, while pointing his gun at Chatelle's foot. Chatelle jumped up, his hands in front of his groin area, and in that instant, "the gun discharged." Chatelle described how defendant stood in a "total séance type of daze" and then told Chatelle "to call somebody." Chatelle testified that he was bleeding profusely and denied that defendant made any attempt to render first aid before leaving the premises. After Chatelle called his brother and 9-1-1, his brother arrived and tried to stem the bleeding.Rescue personnel eventually airlifted Chatelle to a hospital where he underwent surgery for a severe injury to his right thigh.

The defendant was initially charged with one count of assault with intent to murder, in violation of G.L.1956 § 11-5-1, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, in violation of § 11-5-2. At some point during the jury trial that began on April 15, 1997, the first count of assault with intent to murder was dismissed upon motion by the state, pursuant to Rule 48(a) of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure. After the state had rested its case, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal that was denied by the trial justice. The defendant was found guilty of the remaining charge. The defendant's motion for a new trial was denied, and on September 11, 1997, defendant was sentenced to fifteen years, with four to serve, eleven suspended, and eleven years probation after his release. In addition, defendant was ordered to have no contact with Chatelle and to undergo alcohol counseling. He was permitted to remain free on bail, pending this appeal. Additional facts will be discussed as required in the legal analysis of the issues raised.

Defendant's Motion for Acquittal

The defendant's first claim of error was that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon upon Chatelle. In so doing, defendant pointed to the uncontradicted testimony of the treating physician, Dr. Christopher Morin (Dr. Morin), who testified that it was impossible that the bullet in Chatelle's leg had been fired in the manner Chatelle described. Pursuant to Rule 29(a) of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure,

"[t]he court on motion of a defendant or of its own motion shall order the entry of judgment of acquittal of one or more offenses charged in the indictment, information, or complaint after the evidence on either side is closed if the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction of such offense or offenses."

We have consistently held that "[i]n considering a motion for judgment of acquittal, a trial justice must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the state, without weighing the evidence or assessing the credibility of the witnesses, in fact giving full credibility to the state's witnesses, and draw therefrom all reasonable inferences consistent with guilt." State v. King, 693 A.2d 658, 663 (R.I.1997) (quoting State v. Snow, 670 A.2d 239, 243 (R.I.1996)). "If the totality of the evidence so viewed and the inferences so drawn would justify a reasonable juror in finding a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the motion for judgment of acquittal must be denied." Id. "This Court reviews the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal by the same standard as that applied by the trial justice, namely, by viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the state, without weighing the evidence or assessing the witnesses' credibility." State v. Jackson, 752 A.2d 5, 8 (R.I.2000) (citing Snow, 670 A.2d at 243).

The trial justice in the present case, applying the correct standard under Rule 29(a), considered defendant's argument regarding Dr. Morin's testimony, which she characterized as "compelling," but she denied the motion in light of other evidence that inculpated defendant, namely Chatelle's testimony that defendant had shot him. This Court has held that a victim's testimony alone is sufficient to sustain a conviction, and we have affirmed a trial justice's determination that a jury could find a defendant guilty solely on the basis of such evidence. State v. Andrades, 725 A.2d 262, 263 (R.I.1999) (per curiam). Given the amount of inculpatory evidence presented here by the state and given the inferences that could be drawn therefrom, we conclude that a reasonable juror would have been justified in finding defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, we affirm the trial justice's denial of defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal.

Motion for a New Trial

In the alternative, defendant asserted that the denial of his motion for a new trial was error, based on Chatelle's out-of-court...