State v. Woods

• Decision Date: 22 December 1986
• Docket Number: 14434,Nos. 14433,s. 14433
• Citation: State v. Woods, 723 S.W.2d 488 (Mo. App. 1986)
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Charles Edward WOODS, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 488

723 S.W.2d 488

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Charles Edward WOODS, Appellant.

Nos. 14433, 14434.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Southern District,

Division One.

Dec. 22, 1986.

Motion for Rehearing or Transfer

Denied Jan. 12, 1987.

Application to Transfer Denied Feb. 17, 1987.

Charles M. Shaw, C. Clifford Schwartz, Shaw, Howlett & Schwartz, Clayton, for appellant.

William L. Webster, Atty. Gen., Elizabeth A. Levin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.

CROW, Chief Judge.

A jury found Charles Edward Woods ("appellant") guilty of the class D felony of sexual abuse in the first degree, § 566.100.1(2), RSMo 1978, and guilty of the class B felony of sodomy, § 566.060.3, RSMo Cum.Supp.1983. The jury assessed punishment at 5 years' imprisonment for the sexual abuse, and 15 years' imprisonment for the sodomy. The trial court imposed those sentences, running them concurrently.

Appellant briefs 10 assignments of error. Their broad range requires an introduction of the individuals involved in the events discussed herein.

The alleged victim of the sexual abuse was J_____ D_____ C_____, Jr., hereafter referred to as "the eldest boy." He was born June 28, 1973. The alleged victim of the sodomy was R_____ L_____ C_____, a younger brother of the eldest boy. R_____ L_____ C_____, hereafter referred to as "the middle boy," was born June 24, 1976. A third boy, P_____ A_____ C_____, was also caught up in the events in issue. He is a younger brother of the two boys previously mentioned. P_____ A_____ C_____, hereafter referred to as "the youngest boy," was 4 years of age in May, 1984, the month in which the crimes were alleged to have occurred.

The mother of the three boys, R_____ P_____ C_____, hereafter referred to as "the mother," was unmarried at the time of the incidents in issue, her marriage to their father having ended in "divorce" in September, 1982.

The mother was a friend of one Deronda Greer, who, prior to October, 1983, resided in a house on Dye Street in Sikeston. The mother and the three boys frequently visited Deronda Greer and her children at Deronda's residence.

During the period when the mother and the three boys were going to Deronda Greer's, appellant was residing "[d]irectly across the street" from Deronda. The mother was acquainted with appellant, as he had married one of Deronda's sisters, Patsy, whom the mother had known since childhood.

The mother explained that she and her three boys would occasionally see appellant when they were visiting Deronda Greer.

The mother testified:

"[Appellant] was outside, and sometimes he would come across the street at Deronda's to borrow ice or something like that.

Q The boys had the opportunity to see him?

A Yes.

Q Knew who he was?

A Yes.

Q Did you ever talk to Charles Woods?

A Yes, I have.

Q Have you ever talked to him on the telephone?

A Yes."

The incident that triggered this prosecution occurred about 1:00 a.m., Thursday, May 24, 1984. At that time, the mother and her three boys were residing in a house near, but not on, Dye Street. Present in the residence were the mother, the three boys (who were asleep), and one Gary "Butch" Woodall, described by the mother as her "boyfriend." Woodall, according to the mother, was a brother of appellant's wife, Patsy.

The mother recounted that the telephone rang, and she answered it. She recognized the caller's voice as that of appellant. The mother's testimony proceeded:

"Q Do you recall the contents of that conversation?

A Yes.

Q What was said?

A He asked me what I was doing and I said 'Nothing,' and then he started laughing. And he said, 'She says she's not doing anything,' and--

Q Saying that to you?

A Yes. Well, he was saying it to somebody else when he said that, and then he laughed. Then he wanted to know what I was doing. And I asked him, 'What do you want?' And then he started using profanity, so I hung up on him.

Q Could you hear anybody else talking in the background?

* * *

A I heard somebody else laugh in the background, talking--I couldn't understand what they were saying.

* * *

Q Did anything happen after that?

A Yes. He called back.

Q About how long was it from the time you hung up until you got another call?

A Just long enough for him to dial the number back.

Q Did you answer the phone?

A Yes.

Q Did you have a conversation?

A Yes.

Q Did you know who you were talking with?

A Yes.

Q Who was that?

A Charlie Woods.

* * *

Q What was said?

A He said that he knew that Butch was there, and I said, 'How do you know that? And he said he had been patrolling around the house. And I said, 'Charlie, I know this is you, and do not call back.' I said, 'You have no business calling here.' And he told me that he was John Evans, and then he said--then there was laughter, and then he started using profanity again, so I hung up.

Q Then he called back?

A Yes, he did.

Q About how much time was it between when you hung up and you got the other call?

A Just long enough to dial it.

Q And you had a conversation the third time?

A Yes. But this time it wasn't Charlie. It was somebody else.

Q Do you know who that was?

A No, I don't.

Q Did you talk with Charles Woods any time during that conversation, that phone call?

A Just a little bit, because he got on the phone and he hung up, but this guy was talking.

* * *

Q Any other phone calls occur that night?

A Yes.

Q How long after the third?

A Just long enough for me to hang up and then them to call back. He wanted to speak to Butch.

Q Who was it this time asking?

A Charlie.

Q And Butch--

A Butch got on the phone and there was cursing and he told Butch that he could--

* * *

Q Could you hear what was being said on the telephone?

A Yes, I could.

Q How could you do that?

A Because I was on the other phone.

Q What was Charles saying?

* * *

A To Butch?

Q Well, that you heard.

A He just told him that he didn't like him or his family, especially his mother, and he asked Butch if he still had that little gun, you know, and he said that he had one that was a lot bigger and better. And it was just mostly cursing.

Q Now, Butch was his ex brother-in-law--was Charles Woods ex brother-in-law?

A Right.

Q When had Patsy and Charles gotten divorced, if you know?

A I don't remember when they got divorced.

Q Was it before this May of 1984?

A I'm not for sure.

Q Were they separated?

A Oh, yes, they were separated, but I'm not for sure if they was divorced then or not.

Q Had Patsy and Charles been separated for quite a while at that time?

A Oh, yes.

Q Any other phone calls that night?

A He called back again to talk to Butch.

Q Who answered the phone that time?

A Butch did.

Q Did you listen to that conversation?

A No. No, I didn't.

Q Any other phone conversations that you participated in?

A Well, Butch told me to keep him on the phone because he was going to circle around to where the pay phone was to see if Charlie was there using the phone, and then I carried on a conversation with Charlie at that time while he was gone.

Q Do you remember what you and Charlie talked about while you were trying to keep him on the phone?

A Yes. He said that--well, he said he didn't like Butch and didn't want Butch there. He said that he had a crush on me, and he asked where the boys was. And I told him they was in bed. And he said that he was going by at night to make sure me and the boys was all right. And he also said--after--well, he said, 'Where are the boys?' And I said, 'They are asleep.' And he said, 'Well, I like your boy.' I said, 'My boy?' And he said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'Which one?' And he said, '[The youngest boy].' And he said, 'I know [the youngest boy] graduated last Thursday night and I know where at, which church.'

* * *

Q Did you do anything about that conversation that night?

A I did call the police department to talk to John Evans to tell him what was going on, that [appellant] was using [Evans'] name, and they told me that [Evans] was out patrolling. And I just stayed up all night.

Q Up to that point in time, had you been romantically involved with Charles Woods?

A No."

The following morning, the mother got the eldest boy and the middle boy "off to school," then telephoned Deronda Greer and told her about appellant's phone calls. The mother thereafter took the youngest boy to Deronda's, where the mother and Deronda questioned him about appellant. As the mother's testimony regarding what she learned from the youngest boy is the subject of appellant's point V, we defer summarizing that segment of the mother's testimony until we consider that point.

The mother and Deronda then picked up the middle boy and the eldest boy from their respective schools and took all three boys to the Sikeston police department. From there, the boys were taken to Dr. Thomas J. Harrison, Jr., for examination.

The prosecuting attorney filed two cases against appellant: case number CR584-383FX ("the first case"), and case number CR584-384FX ("the second case"). As best we can determine from the record, a single preliminary hearing was held June 20, 1984, at which evidence was presented regarding both cases.

On June 25, 1984, a felony information was filed in the first case, and a felony information was also filed in the second case. The information in the first case accused appellant of committing sexual abuse in the first degree on or about May 17, 1984, by subjecting the eldest boy to sexual contact. The information in the second case contained two counts. Count I accused appellant of committing sodomy on or about May 17, 1984, by having deviate sexual intercourse with the middle boy. Count II accused appellant of committing sodomy on or about May 17, 1984, by having deviate sexual intercourse with the youngest boy.

On May 15, 1985, some 324 days after the informations were filed, the State filed a motion for leave to file an amended information in each case. Each motion averred that appellant had "received all...