Wilson v. State
| Decision Date | 25 August 2015 |
| Docket Number | NO. 01–13–00917–CR,01–13–00917–CR |
| Citation | 473 S.W.3d 889 |
| Parties | Keith Ladale Wilson, Appellant v. The State of Texas, Appellee |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
James F. Keegan, Bellaire, TX, for Appellant.
Philip Anthony Grant, District Attorney (pro tem), Conroe, TX, for State.
Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Higley, and Huddle.
A jury found appellant, Keith Ladale Wilson, guilty of the offense of sexual assault, 2 and it assessed his punishment at confinement for fourteen years. In five issues, appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and the trial court erred in admitting extraneous-offense evidence and sustaining the State's objections to certain portions of his trial counsel's closing argument.
We affirm.
The complainant testified that on May 28, 2010, when she was seventeen years old, she, her sister, and her friend, Kendall Alexander, drove to Livingston, Texas, to attend a party hosted by Caroline Hon. The complainant did not "have any intention of meeting a boy[,] ... spending any time with a boy," or "finding a young man to make out with" at the party.
After arriving at Hon's house, the complainant, her sister, and Alexander went out to dinner with Hon. They then returned to the house to "get[ ] ready" for the party, and the complainant began drinking alcohol "around" 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. She explained that she did not "ha[ve] much experience with drinking alcohol" and could not remember how many drinks she had consumed that evening. She noted, however, that she "had a lot to drink," "she continu[ed] to drink," and "a lot of the night [was] kind of a blur" to her. At some point during the party, the complainant began to "feel unusual," "drunk," and "pretty intoxicated." She remembered spending some time outside Hon's house on the deck "drunk" and talking to her sister, Alexander, Hon, and Hon's brother.
The complainant explained that the next thing that she remembered was being upstairs in the game room, where she awoke to "a bunch of commotion" and "yelling," with "everyone freaking out." She noted that her sister, who was in the game room with her, was "crying and yelling." The complainant also noted that she was not wearing her pants or underwear, "still fe[lt] intoxicated" and "drunk," and was "having a hard time getting around." She subsequently went to a hospital for a sexual-assault examination, and during the examination, she continued to feel intoxicated.
The complainant further testified that she did not know appellant, had never met him before, did not see him the night of the party, and did not remember having any conversations with him at the party. She explained that she did not know how she "got up to the game room," "who took [her] up there," or "how long [she] w[as] up there." And she did not remember taking her clothes off, appellant "coming into the [game room]," or appellant "engaging in sexual conduct with [her]." Finally, the complainant stated that she did not consent to having sexual intercourse with appellant, did not want to have sexual intercourse with him, and had she spoken to appellant at the party, she "would [have] remember[ed]" doing so.
The complainant's sister testified that during the party, the complainant began "exhibiting some signs of intoxication." And, while the complainant was intoxicated, she and appellant had a conversation. She noted that the complainant was "creeped out" by appellant, "got a weird vibe" from him, and was not interested in or attracted to him.
The complainant's sister further explained that the complainant was not "experienced with alcohol" and did not "seem to be handling her alcohol very well" during the party. She was "drunk and tired," had "slurred" and "slow [ ] speech," and had "slower [motor] movements." After the complainant had become intoxicated "[v]ery quickly," she stopped "making any sense" and could not properly form words and sentences. She also stopped "mov[ing] normally" and had lost her coordination. Because of this, it was decided that the complainant should be taken "away from the party" to a "safer location" inside Hon's house.
The complainant was originally placed on a couch in the living room downstairs. Because the complainant was making "noises" and erratic "arm movements," and her sister believed that her level of intoxication was "severe" and "[e]xtreme," she was moved upstairs to a couch in the game room, where she would be further away from the party. The complainant, who was not able to assist herself, had to be "lifted and carried" upstairs by her sister and others. According to her sister, the complainant had lost her physical coordination and did not appear to have any of her mental faculties. And the complainant did not respond when she was placed on the couch in the game room, was "[n]ot coherent at all," and was not conscious. When she last checked on the complainant during the party, the complainant was "[n]ot moving, not coherent, [and remained] still." And the complainant did not respond when her sister would enter the game room.
At some point later that evening, Robert James Austin, who had been staying at Hon's house, tried to enter the game room, but the door was locked. The complainant's sister, concerned by this, began "banging on the door." Hon's mother, Nancy Greer, was able to unlock the door, and when the door was opened, the complainant's sister "saw [appellant] on top of [the complainant]," who was laying on the couch with her arm "dangling off," "like, [it was] dead." According to the complainant's sister, appellant was "raping" and "having sexual intercourse with [the complainant]," who was unconscious, not moving, and not "participat[ing] in any way" in the sexual intercourse.
When the complainant's sister entered the game room, appellant, whose pants were around his ankles, "jumped off" the complainant. When he did this, the complainant did not move, communicate, or respond. Her sister shook the complainant, who awoke after "a while." However, after awakening, the complainant still could not form coherent sentences and did not appear to know what was happening.
The complainant's sister subsequently called for emergency assistance, and she went to the hospital with the complainant. On the way to the hospital, the complainant still could not form sentences and did not appear to have her full physical capabilities. And even after they arrived at the hospital, the complainant still was not "fully aware of what [was] going on."
Austin testified that at some point during the party at Hon's house, he went upstairs to the game room, in which he had been staying, to retrieve his wallet and keys. When he entered, he saw the complainant "laying down on the couch," "passed out," and "asleep." Austin noted that she "had her clothes on" and did not react to any noise that he made while he was in the game room.
Austin then left Hon's house to go to a restaurant. When he returned, fifteen minutes later, he again went back upstairs to the game room to put his wallet and keys away, but found that the door to the game room was locked. Austin, noting that it was unusual for the game-room door to be locked, knocked on the door. After he received no response from the complainant, he went downstairs to tell the complainant's sister about the locked door. Subsequently, Austin heard screaming and shouting, and he ran back upstairs to the game room, where he found the complainant incoherent on the couch and her sister, Greer, and appellant. Austin saw appellant pulling up his pants and that the complainant was not wearing any pants or underwear. He explained that even after the complainant started "coming to," she "didn't really know or comprehend what was going on," and she asked "[w]hat [had] happened."
Greer testified that during the party, she noticed that the complainant had become intoxicated and "had had too much to drink." Later, the complainant's sister came to get Greer to unlock the game-room door. When she and the complainant's sister entered the game room, she saw the complainant "laying on the couch asleep[ ] and [appellant] was on top of her." The complainant "was not moving at all." Greer explained that she saw the appellant's "rear end," which was not clothed, and he was engaging in sexual intercourse with the complainant, who was not clothed from the waist down, while she slept.
When Greer and the complainant's sister walked into the room, appellant "got up." Greer asked him, "What are you doing?" and he responded, After pulling up his underwear, appellant then ran out of the room. During this event, the complainant did not move at all, and she was not conscious.
When Greer subsequently drove the complainant to the hospital, she did not "appear to have a good understanding of what had gone on" or "appear to comprehend the fact that she had just been sexually assaulted." However, Greer further explained that the complainant did not appear to be intoxicated on the way to the hospital. Regardless, there was no doubt in Greer's mind that appellant "was sexually assaulting [the complainant] who was unconscious when [Greer] walked into the game room."
Hon testified that during the party she interacted with the complainant, saw her drinking, and noticed that she became suddenly intoxicated. The complainant began not "making sense" and "slurring" her words. Therefore, she, the complainant's sister, and Austin placed the complainant on a couch in the living room downstairs. Subsequently, she and the complainant's sister "carried" and "dragg[ed]" the complainant upstairs to the game room, "so [that] she could have her own room." Hon explained that the complainant did not walk up the stairs on her own; rather she was "dead weight." Once upstairs in the game room, they placed the complainant on the couch. Throughout this entire time, the complainant remained "uncon...
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