Title: State v. Reinhold
Citation: 123 Ariz. 50, 597 P.2d 532
Docket Number: 4526
State: Arizona
Issuer: Arizona Supreme Court
Date: May 31, 1979

123 Ariz. 50 (1979) 597 P.2d 532 STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Darold Duane REINHOLD, Appellant. No. 4526. Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc. May 31, 1979. Rehearing Denied July 10, 1979. *52 John A. LaSota, Jr., former Atty. Gen., Robert K. Corbin, Atty. Gen., by William J. Schafer, III, Gregory A. McCarthy, Asst. Attys. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee. William J. Friedl, Phoenix, for appellant. STRUCKMEYER, Vice Chief Justice. This is an appeal by Darold Duane Reinhold from his convictions for kidnapping, first degree rape and lewd and lascivious acts. Judgments affirmed. On September 30, 1977, the prosecuting witness, victim of the criminal offenses charged, drove her car into the parking lot of her apartment complex. When she opened the car door, she was met by Reinhold, who struck her in the face and forced his way into the car. Thereafter he forced her to engage in acts of sexual intercourse as well as lewd sexual acts. Eventually Reinhold compelled her to go to her apartment, where he fell asleep. She then called her father, who called the police. Reinhold was arrested when the police went to the victim's apartment. At a voluntariness hearing held on June 12, 1978, a police officer testified: The trial court suppressed the statements made by appellant before the Miranda[1] warnings were given but permitted the officer to testify to the conversation he had with appellant after the warnings were given. Appellant urges the entire conversation should have been suppressed, arguing that when the officer testified that Reinhold did not respond to his question concerning the victim's name, it was an improper comment on his exercise of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. It is a general rule that the State may not place before the jury testimony that a defendant has exercised his right to remain silent after arrest. See Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 96 S. Ct. 2240, 49 L. Ed. 2d 91 (1976); State v. Ward, 112 Ariz. 391, 542 P.2d 816 (1975). But it is clear here from the quoted testimony that appellant did not invoke his right to remain silent. He answered all questions posed by the police officer except one; he refused to tell the officers the victim's name. See State v. Tuzon, 118 Ariz. 205, 575 P.2d 1231 (1978). Appellant argues that the answers obtained before the giving of the Miranda warnings tainted the admissions made after the warnings were given, and, therefore, those admissions should have been suppressed as "fruits of the poisonous tree."[2] The facts in this case establish that the police officers were met on the street by the victim who was "excited" and "talking fast." She told the officers of the events of the night, and claimed the man was still in her apartment. The officers entered the apartment and found appellant asleep in the victim's bed. The questions asked by the officer, whether appellant knew the complainant and her name, were not accusatory in nature and were merely in furtherance of a preliminary investigation. The questions asked prior to the Miranda warnings were proper given the unusual fact situation presented by this case. Cf. State v. Landrum, 112 Ariz. 555, 544 P.2d 664 (1976); State v. Starr, 119 Ariz. 472, 581 P.2d 706 (App. 1978); State v. Kennedy, 116 Ariz. 566, 570 P.2d 508 (App. 1977). Because the questions and answers given prior to the Miranda warnings were admissible at trial, appellant's claim of error that his statements were tainted as "fruit of the poisonous tree" has no legal basis. During cross-examination of the victim, the defense attempted to obtain an admission from her that she had a prior sexual relationship with one Pete Morales. Morales was called as a defense witness and was questioned about his relationship with the victim. The trial court, pursuant to our decision in State ex rel. Pope v. Superior Court, 113 Ariz. 22, 545 P.2d 946 (1976), refused to allow this testimony. Appellant claims that the possible prejudicial effect of this testimony was outweighed by its probative value, and that he was denied a fair trial since he was denied the opportunity to show that the victim claimed she was raped "to get back at Pete Morales through" appellant. The victim testified that she worked under Morales' supervision at St. Luke's Hospital for seven years, during which time they developed "a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship." Morales' wife was unaware of their relationship, even though at one time the victim lived next door to Morales in a duplex owned by Morales. The victim also testified that she saw Morales near her apartment just before she was abducted, that Morales called her later that night, and that she told the police she wanted both Morales and appellant prosecuted. When Morales was called to the stand, he testified that his relationship with the victim had developed into a sexual one. The *54 prosecutor objected. The trial court, after admonishing appellant's counsel, sustained the objection, ordered the answer stricken, and instructed the jury to disregard the statement. Morales later testified that he terminated the victim's employment, but was forced to rehire her after "she threatened to expose" him "at work and at home." It is apparent from the record that the relationship between Morales and the prosecutrix was clearly presented, and that any exploration of the sexual relations between the two would have little further probative value. Moreover, appellant failed to comply with the procedural prerequisites of Pope.[3] We hold that it was within the trial court's discretion to exclude further evidence of the victim's relationship with Morales. The victim also testified: Appellant's counsel moved for a mistrial, claiming that the victim's reference to appellant as a robber improperly brought before the jury appellant's prior criminal record. The prosecuting attorney explained to the court other circumstances which had occurred: The following colloquy then took place: The trial court's assessment of the testimony was correct. It is a general rule that evidence tending to show the defendant has committed certain bad acts, other than those for which he is now on trial, is inadmissible. State v. Woods, 121 Ariz. 187, 589 P.2d 430 (1979); State v. Rose, 121 Ariz. 131, 589 P.2d 5 (1978), and cases cited. A well recognized exception to the rule is that evidence of circumstances which complete the story of the crime are admissible, even though it is revealed that other criminal offenses have been committed. See State v. Woods, supra; State v. Evans, 110 Ariz. 380, 519 P.2d 182 (1974), and cases cited. In this case, the theft of the victim's money completed the story of the crime. The victim testified appellant used the money to buy cigarettes, beer, and other items before they returned to her apartment. Appellant's motion for mistrial was properly denied. After the jury had been selected, but before trial, the trial court learned that two of the impaneled jurors knew the victim's mother. A hearing was thereafter held to determine whether they should continue to sit as jurors and the court denied appellant's motion to strike the jury panel. Appellant urges that the trial court's ruling constituted prejudicial error. In State v. Rose, supra, we said: The interrogation of the jurors revealed that the victim's mother was a reading consultant for the school district in which the jurors worked as teachers. Neither of the jurors knew the victim's mother as more than a business acquaintance, and both were unaware that she even had a daughter until it was brought to their attention after the jury's selection. The jurors stated that they believed they could serve as fair and impartial jurors in the case, and would not feel uncomfortable in seeing the victim's mother again if they rendered a verdict of not guilty. We find no error in the court's ruling. Appellant contends that the trial court committed prejudicial error when it refused to give six of his requested jury instructions. *56 Appellant asked the court to instruct the jury: The trial court refused to give this instruction, and instead charged the jury: Appellant submits that when the defense is consent and there is no corroborative evidence to bolster the victim's testimony, the defendant is entitled to the proposed instruction or its equivalent. In support of this proposition, he relies on State v. Kelly, 111 Ariz. 181, 526 P.2d 720 (1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 935, 95 S. Ct. 1143, 43 L. Ed. 2d 411 (1975). In Kelly, "[t]he defense was not consent but alibi, or that the event never took place. Evidence was presented that corroborated the testimony of the victim." 111 Ariz. at 191, 526 P.2d at 730. In those circumstances, it was held that it was not error for the court to refuse to give the cautionary instruction similar to the one requested in the instant case. Later, in State v. Settle, 111 Ariz. 394, 396, 531 P.2d 151, 153 (1975), we said: The refusal to give Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 7 was not error. Appellant also requested the following instructions, which were declined by the court. We discussed identical instructions in State v. Denton, 101 Ariz. 455, 420 P.2d 930 (1966). There we said that Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 3 "applies only where there is a conflict in the evidence as to the `absence of intimidation.'" 101 Ariz. at 458, 420 P.2d at 933. In the instant case, there was uncontroverted evidence that appellant physically abused the victim and that she feared for her safety. It was not error to refuse the instruction. In reference to Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 6, we said in Denton: In this case, there was evidence showing intimidation; therefore, Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 6 was properly refused. The trial court instructed the jury that: We believe these instructions fairly and adequately informed the jury of the legal standards by which appellant's guilt or innocence was to be determined.[4] *58 Appellant argues that the trial court committed reversible error when it instructed the jury: It is appellant's position that the instruction omits any reference to consent as a defense as reflected by the opinion in the Matter of Appeal in Maricopa County Juvenile Action No. J-72472S., 25 Ariz. App. 377, 543 P.2d 806 (1975).[5] He contends that the following instruction should have been given: Appellant's position is without merit. The jury was informed that the taking must be against the victim's will. Appellant's requested instruction was cumulative, and it was not error to fail to submit it to the jury. See State v. Stinson, 105 Ariz. 174, 461 P.2d 472 (1969). Next, appellant argues that pursuant to State v. Bateman, 113 Ariz. 107, 547 P.2d 6 (1976), an accomplice instruction should have been given by the trial court and failure to do so constitutes prejudicial error. In Bateman, decided on March 10, 1976, we said: On June 24, 1976, A.R.S. § 13-136 was repealed. See Ch. 116, § 1, Laws of 1976. Since both the offenses and appellant's trial occurred after A.R.S. § 13-136 was repealed, Bateman is inapplicable. Finally, appellant urges that the victim's testimony in this case was inherently *59 incredulous, and asks this Court to "sincerely evaluate the testimony and set the conviction aside." We have held: There was substantial evidence to warrant a conviction in this case. The victim's testimony was uncontroverted and the jury believed her. The evidence was sufficient to sustain appellant's convictions. Judgments affirmed. CAMERON, C.J., and HAYS, HOLOHAN and GORDON, JJ., concur. [1] Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966). [2] See, e.g., United States v. Nash, 563 F.2d 1166 (5th Cir.1977); Fisher v. Scafati, 439 F.2d 307 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 939, 91 S. Ct. 2256, 29 L. Ed. 2d 719 (1971). [3] In Pope, we said: "In these and other instances in which the evidence concerning unchastity is alleged to be sufficiently probative to compel its admission despite its inflammatory effect, a hearing should be held by the court outside the presence of the jury prior to the presentation of the evidence. This hearing should be preceded by a written motion or offer of proof on the record, made without the jury's knowledge, which should include the matters sought to be proved by either cross-examination of the complaining witness or by other witnesses. Either of these should make reference to specific records or documents which may be relied upon. If the defendant alleges that proffered evidence falls into one of the above exceptions, the trial court should allow its admission if it is not too remote and appears credible." 113 Ariz. at 29, 545 P.2d at 953. The Court of Appeals, in State v. Quinn, 121 Ariz. 582, 592 P.2d 778 (App. 1978), held that failure to request a Pope hearing justifies excluding cross-examination of a rape victim's prior sexual conduct. [4] Appellant requested that the two following instructions be given: "The sexual act of intercourse must be committed against the will of the complainant. This is not merely a technical requirement. It must be against her actual will or it will not be considered rape. Consent given at any time prior to penetration deprives the subsequent intercourse, if any there may be, of its criminal character, regardless of how reluctantly it was given, or of how much force had theretofore been employed." (Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 4.) "Resistance establishes two elements of the crime of rape; force and non-consent. These are essential in every case in which the complainant has her mental and physical capacities intact. Resistance or opposition by mere words is never enough; the resistance must be by acts, and must be reasonably proportionate to the strength and opportunities of the woman. She must resist the consummation of the act of sexual intercourse and her resistance must be more than pretense." (Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 5.) Both of these instructions clearly misstate the law. Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 4 ignores the fact that consent induced by intimidation is not valid. Defendant's Requested Instruction No. 5 is erroneous because it is well settled that resistance is not required when consent has been extracted through intimidation. See State v. Kidwell, 106 Ariz. 257, 475 P.2d 241 (1970); State v. Denton, supra. Failure to give instructions which are not correct statements of the law and do not fit the facts of a case is not error. See State v. Rhymes, 107 Ariz. 12, 480 P.2d 662 (1971). [5] We find that case inapposite. The appellant in Juvenile Action No. J-72472S. picked up a hitchhiker and told her he would give her a ride home. Instead, he took her to South Mountain Park and raped her. Appellant argued that he could not be convicted of kidnapping since the victim entered his vehicle voluntarily. The Court of Appeals disagreed, holding that consent procured by fraud is not legal consent, and that a "taking" commenced when appellant refused to take the victim home and instead took her to another place against her will. There was no mention in Juvenile Action No. J-72472S. of required jury instructions.