Opinion ID: 1801755
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Defendant's previous rape of Christa B.

Text: Christa B. testified that defendant raped her four years prior to the charged crimes. She testified that she was introduced to defendant by her boyfriend in 1987, and defendant had visited her at her apartment once before the night that he raped her. She related that shortly after midnight on September 2, 1987, approximately two weeks after his first visit, defendant rang the bell to her apartment and spoke to her through her building's security system. He identified himself, asked whether he could come in, and said he just want[ed] to chitchat. She let him in and they spoke for approximately one hour in the living room, while they watched television, drank beer, and smoked marijuana. Christa testified that defendant asked her, What would you do if I came on to you? She told him she would not like it, because she was in love with her boyfriend. Christa testified that after conversing with her for an hour or longer, defendant walked into her bedroom, looked out a large window, and asked Christa to come into the bedroom because he wanted to show her something. When she entered the bedroom, he pushed her onto her back on the bed, got on top of her, and held her hands tightly above her head. Christa testified that her knees were up to her chest. She stated that defendant told her he had a knife, and that if she did not cooperate, he would slice her throat. She stated that she initially refused to disrobe, but complied after he again threatened to slice her throat. He freed one of her hands to allow her to disrobe, and he removed his pants. Christa testified that defendant was able to hold both of her hands with one of his hands. She noted that she was five feet four inches in height and weighed 105 pounds at the time of the rape. She testified that he's very strong, and I feel I was over-powered, and I was very scared and intimidated that he was going to kill me. She stated that while defendant continued to hold her hands above her head, he removed his pants, forced her legs apart with his knee, and raped her, but he did not ejaculate. Christa testified that defendant then allowed her to get up and walk to the living room, where she put on some clothing. He asked her where she was going, and she responded, nowhere. He asked her what she would tell her boyfriend, and she said nothing. She testified that she was shocked by what he had done, because she thought he was her friend. She was scared and crying, and asked defendant to leave. He told her that if she reported the incident to law enforcement or to her boyfriend, he would kill her, and claimed he previously had been paid $10,000 to kill someone. She continued to carry on a conversation with him as she walked to the door of the apartment, but as she turned the door handle, he blocked her exit. She testified that he then placed her in a chokehold, dragged her to the bedroom, got on top of her, and strangled her by placing his thumbs against the front of her throat and his hands around the back. She testified that he squeezed very hard and said, You didn't think I was going to hurt you. You didn't think I was going to kill you. Well, you're wrong. Christa stated that she struggled against him, but was overpowered and lost consciousness. Christa testified that when she regained consciousness, she saw a different man in her living room, holding her television. When the man saw her as she attempted to rise, he dropped the television, came into the bedroom, and began to strangle her. Christa stated that as she fought back, the man lost his grip on her throat. She testified that he punched her repeatedly in the face. She then kicked the large window by the bed, breaking it and causing a lot of noise, causing the man to flee from the apartment. Christa testified that she called her boyfriend, who brought her to his apartment, and that later that morning she contacted the police, who interviewed her at the hospital. She stated that after leaving the hospital, she and her boyfriend located defendant and identified him to police officers. Christa stated that when she identified defendant, he said, I'm going to get you, bitch. Christa stated that she testified at the preliminary hearing, but told the prosecutor that she did not want to go through a trial. She further related that the prosecutor informed her that the state would agree to a plea agreement, with defendant pleading guilty to rape and receiving a prison term of six years, and the state dropping the attempted murder charge. Christa agreed with that resolution of the matter. Yvonne Vigil, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, testified concerning her interview of Christa at Santa Monica Hospital on September 2, 1987. She stated that Christa was distraught and in pain, and had injuries to her head and neck. According to Vigil, Christa had difficulty speaking, but was responsive and did not appear to be evasive. Vigil's testimony concerning her interview of Christa demonstrated that the description of the events given by Christa at defendant's trial was substantially similar to the description Christa provided to Vigil on the day after the event. Vigil testified that Christa told her that the assailant came to her apartment at 12:30 a.m.; that she had known the assailant for four or five months; that his name was Michael and his last name could be Thomas; that she voluntarily had admitted him to her apartment when he came by to visit; that they sat in the living room on the couch and consumed two beers; that at approximately 3:00 a.m., he beckoned her into her bedroom, assertedly to show her something; that he pushed her onto the bed, and she landed on her back with her knees up to her chest; that when she refused to put her legs down or take off her top, he told her he had a knife in his back pocket and was going to slice her throat; that he held both of her wrists with one of his hands, and removed his pants and underwear; that he placed his knee between her knees and forced her legs open; that he engaged in intercourse for approximately three minutes, but did not ejaculate; that she walked into the living room to get dressed; that he came out of the bedroom and told her that he better not see the police question him about this, . . . [and] he better not see her boyfriend . . . question him about it, or he would hurt her; that he claimed he had been paid $10,000 to kill someone; that she told him to [g]et out of here or you'll be in trouble, but then claimed she was just kidding; that he shut the apartment door when she attempted to leave, and pushed her back into the bedroom; that she landed on her bed, where he got on top of her, placed his hands over her neck and strangled her; that she lost consciousness, and when she regained consciousness, another person was in her living room, and that person punched her repeatedly on the right side of her head and attempted to strangle her; and when she broke a large window in her apartment, the person fled. According to the report Vigil prepared after the interview, Christa stated that she told defendant, I thought you were my friend and now you've just raped me. According to the report, Christa stated that defendant responded, I did not rape you. It's your word against mine. I could tell them that you were drunk, that you took your clothes off and wanted me to seduce you.