Opinion ID: 1425642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Douglas Allison

Text: William Hurd, Douglas Allison's roommate, testified that on Friday, February 20, 1981, he spent the evening with Allison and a friend named Derrah. [9] Hurd and Allison were homosexual. The three smoked marijuana and at approximately 9 p.m. they drove to the Gold Coast bar on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. Allison had at least $50 and his cigarette lighter with him. They stayed at the Gold Coast for about 45 minutes, then drove 8 blocks to the Spike. After another 45 minutes they drove back to the Gold Coast. Some time between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Allison bid his companions good night and left to walk three blocks east to the Rusty Nail. Hurd and Derrah walked 2 blocks west to the New Town Saloon, where they stayed 15 or 20 minutes before going to Derrah's house for the night. Terry Dougall lived eight blocks south of the Rusty Nail. At 1:30 a.m., while driving around his neighborhood in search of his dog, he heard a gurgling noise like somebody snoring or gasping for air on North Laurel Avenue. He stopped, looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a man lying on the grass next to the curb. Thinking the man was probably drunk, Dougall continued to search for his dog. About 15 minutes later, after finding his dog and returning home, Dougall went back to check on the man he had seen. He discovered on closer inspection that the man's face was disfigured and covered with blood. The man was Allison. Dougall called the paramedics, who took Allison to the hospital. Allison had sustained multiple facial fractures, including fractures to both his upper and lower jawbones. A surgeon who treated him stated that the injuries were caused by blows of substantial force with a smooth, and probably heavy, blunt object. Allison remained unconscious for approximately two months. Police investigators searched the area where Allison was discovered. They found blood on the grass, and nearby found a pack of cigarettes, a plastic lighter, and a bag containing two beer bottles. In Allison's clothes at the hospital they found a dollar bill and 66 cents in change, but no wallet. None of the evidence established any direct link between the crime and defendant. Allison suffered acute memory loss as a result of his injuries. He testified that he had no memory of the period between the fall of 1980 and late April 1981, and therefore remembered nothing about the night of his attack. However, he was able to testify that: (1) he always carried a wallet containing identification when he went out; (2) he usually went to the Rusty Nail two or three times a week, and would often do so to look for sexual partners; (3) he had no recollection of ever seeing defendant in a bar; (4) he would frequently smoke marijuana on the evenings he went to a bar  offering marijuana was a common way in the gay community of establishing personal contact with somebody; (5) he would never go home with somebody unless he felt it was safe; (6) he would never go to their car unless he thought it was safe, and he never hitchhiked; (7) he generally looked for White sex partners, although he recalled having one Black sex partner in the summer of 1980; and (8) a friend had hypnotized him to try to restore his memory.