WAYMOND M. BROWN, Judge.
Appellant appeals from his convictions for sexual assault in the second degree and residential burglary. On appeal, appellant argues that (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict him of either residential burglary or sexual assault in the second degree; and (2) pursuant to Wicks v. State,
On July 22, 2012, the appellant entered the home of a female neighbor. While there, the appellant fondled her while she was sleeping. The victim was awakened by the appellant's touching and told him to leave. The victim's minor son had been awake and lying next to her throughout the incident, although he pretended to be asleep. After she was sure that appellant had left the premises, she went to her mother's home across the street and called the police.
A criminal information was filed on August 29, 2012, charging the appellant with residential burglary and sexual assault in the second degree. The trial began on March 29, 2013.
The victim testified that she was married, but had a boyfriend as she and her husband were separated;
The victim testified that she and her son were sleeping on a mattress in the living room on the morning of July 22, 2012. She advised that her daughter was spending the night across the street with her mother and that she left the back door unlocked so they could easily get into the apartment in the morning. She asserted that she woke up to the appellant touching her breast "over my clothes" and her vagina "under both the underwear and pajamas." She said she yelled at him to "get the hell out my house"; that he left eventually; and that she then took her son to her mother's home and called 911 after she was sure he had left. When the police arrived, they took her report and she showed them where he had gone. She admitted that she did not know her son had seen anything until the next day. Finally, she stated that there was not a "situation of hanging about and drinking and come and go as you please" at her home.
After being questioned and found competent by the court, the victim's son testified that he was sleeping with his mom on the night of the incident when the appellant came into the apartment and touched his mom while she was sleeping. He stated that he was about to go get some water when the appellant entered the apartment, so he pretended he was asleep until the appellant left. He testified that his mother woke up when the appellant started touching her and told the appellant to get out though he did not remember her exact words. He initially stated that he had not seen the appellant before the night of the incident though he eventually admitted that he had.
Officer Billy Collins testified that he was dispatched on the night of the incident and found the victim "very shaky, crying and visibly upset." She had advised him that the appellant had run into an apartment. Officer Collins stated that he and another officer attempted to make contact with the appellant, but were not able to do so due to a language barrier between themselves and the man, not the appellant, who answered the door; they could not get consent to enter. He stated that they never made physical or verbal contact with the appellant, although they did see a scooter
Officer Mario Garcia testified that he spoke Spanish fluently; that about "thirty or forty percent" of his job was translating for fellow officers during interviews and out in the field; and that his translating in this case "was certainly not the first time." He testified that he accompanied Officer Torkelson to make contact at the appellant's apartment later on that day and that he assisted during the interview, both at the residence and at the police department, as a translator. He testified to his belief, after reviewing the audio of the interview, that his translation was accurate both as to questions and answers.
Officer Garcia then testified that the appellant told the officers that he had been with the victim prior to going to a bar where he became intoxicated. The appellant told Officer Garcia that he had left the bar when it closed and was heading back home, but had stopped at the victim's apartment upon noticing that the door was open. He admitted to the officers that he had let himself into the victim's home and told her "I need you." When questioned further, the appellant had explained that "I need you" meant he wanted to have sex with her.
He testified that the appellant had admitted that he and the victim were not on good terms, though he could not remember why, and mentioned that he had been in her home before though the number of times changed. He stated the appellant characterized his understanding of the victim as having a "loose reputation."
The State then rested, and the appellant moved to dismiss the case. The court denied the motion. For its case, the appellant put on one witness who was disclosed to the State by email at 9:20 pm on March 28, 2013. Maria Nieves-Parara, a friend of the appellant, testified that the appellant and the victim were friends and would get together more than once a week, mostly on weekends.
The appellant renewed his motion to dismiss; it was denied. The court then found the appellant guilty of residential burglary and sexual assault in the second degree, for which he was sentenced to ten years' and twenty years' imprisonment, respectively, in the Arkansas Department of Correction. This timely appeal followed.
Appellant's first argument is that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of either residential burglary or sexual assault. Before considering the merits of this point on appeal, this court
Accordingly, in order to preserve a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, an appellant must make a specific motion to dismiss, both at the close of the State's evidence and at the end of all the evidence, which advises the trial court of the exact element of the crime that the State has failed to prove.
Appellant's counsel moved to dismiss the matter before the trial court and followed that request with a litany of facts, the purpose of which appeared to be to attack the victim's credibility by insinuating that the relationship between the victim and the appellant was more than the victim admitted. She stated that the victim was "of questionable morals" and noted that there was no sign of forced entry and no DNA evidence. Following this recitation, counsel asked the court to dismiss both the residential burglary charge and the sexual assault charge. This was not sufficient to advise the court of any deficiency in the State's case. Appellant's counsel failed to assert that any specific element of either charge had not been proven.
As part of his insufficiency argument, appellant now argues that (1) the State's evidence did not prove that the victim was
In his sufficiency argument, appellant also argues that the victim's son, a minor, was not competent to testify, or rather should have been disqualified from testifying, due to the court's failure to require the witness to state his knowledge of the consequences of false swearing. Appellant made this argument below, however minimal the argument was; therefore, it is preserved. In Warner v. State, this court stated the following regarding competency:
Child witnesses are treated no differently than adults in determining competency. The age of a child is not determinative of competency.
Before the trial court, the following colloquy ensued between the witness and the prosecutor:
The prosecutor then began his questioning, but was interrupted by appellant's counsel who still had reservations regarding the witness's competency. The following colloquy then ensued between the court, the prosecutor, and appellant's counsel:
Appellant argues that the court's failure to require any statement of the child's knowledge of the consequences of false swearing should have either disqualified the witness or required that he be found incompetent. However, it was not necessary for the witness to specifically state that he understood the consequences of false swearing.
After being accepted as competent to testify by the court, the witness testified that he remembered the night of the incident from the previous summer because he was sleeping beside his mother, the victim, when he saw the appellant touch his mom. He testified to being about to go get some water when the appellant came into the apartment, but then pretending he was asleep until the appellant left the house. He testified that his mother was asleep when she was awakened by the appellant's touching her, and then she told the appellant to get out. Though the witness's answer changed regarding whether he had seen the appellant prior to the incident on the night of July 21, 2012, he was clear about the events of that night.
It was up to the trial court to determine whether the witness had a moral awareness of the obligation to tell the truth and an ability to observe, remember, and relate facts; therefore, we cannot find clear abuse in the court's decision permitting the witness to testify.
In his second point on appeal, appellant argues that Officer Garcia should not have been permitted to testify regarding appellant's statement because he was not a certified court translator.
The third Wicks exception deals with a court's duty to intervene, even without an objection, to correct a serious error. In Wicks, our supreme court said:
The offending action was Officer Garcia's testimony to statements made to him by the appellant, in spite of the appellant's decision not to testify pursuant to his constitutional right to remain silent. This action is similar to that taken in Chunestudy v. State, where the officer who took Chunestudy's statement after Mirandizing him was allowed to testify regarding Chunestudy's statement, in spite of Chunestudy's decision to exercise his right to remain silent.
The fourth Wicks exception deals with the admission or exclusion of evidence that affected the defendant's substantial rights. The fourth Wicks exception has its roots in Arkansas Rule of Evidence 103(d), which provides that "[n]othing in this rule precludes taking notice of errors affecting substantial rights, although they were not brought to the attention of the court."
Even if it is assumed that the fourth Wicks exception applies in the present case and that the issue of whether Officer Garcia's testimony can be considered on appeal despite appellant's failure to contemporaneously object, any conclusion that appellant's Fifth Amendment rights were violated is subject to a harmless-error analysis.
In light of the victim's testimony that the appellant touched her breasts on top of her shirt and touched her vagina under both her pants and underwear, which is sufficient to support conviction, the testimony of Officer Garcia would constitute harmless error.
Affirmed.
WALMSLEY and WOOD, JJ., agree.