Opinion ID: 3153965
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ricks

Text: Talmage Donnell Ricks (“Ricks”) was convicted by the Circuit Court of Southampton County (“Southampton Circuit Court”) of strangulation resulting in bodily injury in violation of Code § 18.2-51.6. At trial, the evidence showed that Ricks lived with his girlfriend, Nichole Hyman (“Hyman”). On May 11, 2013, Ricks returned home drunk after an altercation with a neighbor and awakened Hyman. Ricks was angry and told Hyman that he was going to shoot someone. Hyman asked him “to leave it alone, [and] to go to sleep.” Hyman testified that Ricks became angrier and hit her in the side with a belt while she was in bed. Hyman tried to get out of bed, but Ricks got on top of her and held her neck down with one hand. Hyman testified that she could not breathe and that Ricks held her neck for approximately four seconds. Hyman kicked Ricks, he fell off the bed on to the floor, and she ran. Ricks caught Hyman near the bathroom door and again choked her. Hyman explained that Ricks had one hand over her neck, cutting off her breathing completely. Hyman testified she was able to get to the front door where Ricks choked her for a third time and said, “‘B, I’m’a leave you for dead tonight.’” Hyman kicked Ricks and ran next door to call the police. Hyman testified she did not yell for help because she did not have a voice and she could not talk when she went next door. Hyman testified her voice returned a “couple of days” later. Hyman testified she had bruises on her neck from the incident, but no permanent injuries and she did not seek medical attention. When Deputy Blythe arrived to investigate, he testified that he saw a faint red mark on Hyman’s neck. Ricks testified that he never choked Hyman and did not hit her with a belt. He admitted he hit Hyman with his forearm when she tried to prevent him from leaving. He testified Hyman told him she was leaving the house to “get some air.” At the conclusion of the evidence, the Southampton Circuit Court stated that Hyman’s testimony was “very credible.” The court found that Hyman’s respiratory process was stopped by Ricks’s hand and that she was unable to yell for help as a result of Ricks’s actions. Finally, the court ruled that Hyman sustained a bodily injury due to the red mark on her neck and she testified that she had a bruise on her neck and was unable to speak the next day. Ricks filed a petition for appeal with the Court of Appeals asserting the Southampton Circuit Court erred in finding him guilty of strangulation because the Commonwealth failed to prove Hyman suffered a “bodily injury” within the meaning of Code § 18.2-51.6. On October