Opinion ID: 2681345
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Oxnard Beach robbery and rape

Text: The prosecution presented evidence that defendant had pleaded guilty to the second degree robberies of M.S. and Jaime Marquez and the forcible rape in concert of M.S. M.S. and Marquez testified that on the evening of September 14, 1991, three men approached them while they were sitting on Oxnard Beach. One of the men pointed a gun at the couple and demanded their money and jewelry, threatening to ―blow [them] away.‖ The men forced the couple to lie down on the sand, covered their heads with a blanket, and told them not to look out. The man with the gun sat behind the couple. He kept the gun pointed at them and at times pressed it against M.S.‘s head. When Marquez told the man with the gun to point it at him rather than at M.S., the man struck Marquez in the back of the neck. One of the men took Marquez‘s car keys, walked to the parking lot and returned several minutes later. The men also took rings and gold chains from the couple, and they identified themselves as Crips. At some point, one of the men touched M.S.‘s leg and said, ―Feel like fucking this.‖ Two of the men then raped M.S. When the second man finished, one of the men told the couple to take their keys 7 and run to their car. They did so and drove to a friend‘s nearby house, where they called the police. Genetic testing conducted on sperm found in vaginal samples taken from M.S. conclusively excluded defendant as a donor of the sperm but could not eliminate Jackson and Rollins as donors. Because they averted their eyes or a blanket covered their heads for most of the ordeal, the couple could not identify their attackers. M.S. and Marquez later married. Their fear of being killed during the attack had remained with them and affected their relationship. They had difficulties communicating and had not been able to return to the beach. M.S. did not feel safe in public places or in her own home and was fearful that she would be retaliated against for testifying.