Opinion ID: 151087
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Four Victims' Testimony

Text: The four victims recounted the crimes. On October 15, 1999, Diane Jackson, owner of the Little People's Workshop, was working at the day care center. That evening at about 5:00 p.m. or 5:15 p.m., Barbara Rush, a parent of a child attending the center, came in to fill out paperwork. Benson Rivers came with Rush, his girlfriend. Around 5:30 p.m., while Jackson, Rush, and Rivers were there, the last children left. Shortly thereafter, a tall black male in his late teens arrived and rang the bell. Jackson did not know him, but she later identified him as Leak. Leak asked about a child. Jackson responded that the child did not attend the center, and Leak left. Jackson saw Leak walk across the parking lot. A few minutes later, Leak rang the doorbell again. When Jackson opened the door, Leak drew a gun. Leak came inside and told Jackson, Rush, and Rivers to empty their pockets and give him their money. Leak took Rivers's money, jewelry, and wallet. Then Leak moved the three victims into a bathroom. While he was doing so, Leak told someone to stay back. Leak was not speaking to victims Jackson, Rush, or Rivers, but to another person whom Jackson did not see and thus could not identify. Leak told the victims that he had accomplices outside. Leak ordered Jackson to tie up Rivers and then put Rivers in a closet by himself in one of the bedrooms in the daycare center. Leak then ordered Rush to tie Jackson up with telephone cords and forced Rush and Jackson to lie down in a different bedroom than where Rivers was located. Around 6:00 p.m., Crystal Franklin, a parent of a daycare center attendee, arrived to pay her fees. Leak pointed a gun at Franklin and ordered her to lie down in the hallway. Leak then ordered Rush and Franklin into the same bedroom where Rivers was in the closet, and he ordered Franklin to tie Rush up with a telephone cord. Leak then told Franklin to go into the hallway and take her clothes off. Leak raped Franklin in the hallway. [11] Jackson heard Leak raping Franklin. Rivers heard Leak say he was going to have sex with Franklin, and then he heard Franklin saying no, no, no and screaming. After raping Franklin, Leak left, returned again, and then ordered Franklin, who had tied Rush up, to take off Rush's shorts. Leak fondled Rush and put his gun inside her. Rivers heard Leak say he was going to have sex with Rush. Rush told Leak she had a disease, and he did not rape her. The other three victims all heard Rush tell Leak she had a disease. Leak then took Franklin's money and four rings that she was wearing. Leak left the now four victims alone several times and returned periodically. Rivers testified that Leak went back and forth in the back of the daycare center, returning periodically to check on the victims, and told them that he had other people outside. Jackson testified that Leak returned periodically and asked her questions about the daycare center, such as if there was a key to the Coke machine or what was in these cabinets, or what was in the lock box on her desk. Rush also testified Leak seemed confused[,] . . . as if he didn't know what he was doing. He would go backhe would tell us something and he would go back and tell us something again and come back and tell us something different. According to Rush, Leak seemed just as scared as we were. During this time, Leak also asked Franklin for her keys. Shortly after he took Franklin's keys, Leak threw them back to her. The victims testified that they thought another person was present during the robbery. Leak went into the kitchen at one point, and the victims heard cabinets opening and shutting in the kitchen. Jackson testified that the cabinets were being opened and shut too quickly for one person to be opening and closing them alone. To Franklin also, [i]t sounded like it was more than one person when she heard the cabinets slamming. Rivers also testified that he heard noises like there was more than one person in there. Rush testified that she believed another person could have been present because Leak would appear before them very shortly after she heard noises at the opposite end of the daycare center, and because Rush also heard the cabinets slamming quickly. During the robbery, Leak also told the victims he had people outside. At one point, Rush heard Leak yell[] a name like up front, as if he were asking a question, but Rush did not remember what the name was. At the time, Rush thought Leak was lying and that it was a scare tactic. Rush testified that Leak referred to the people outside as my boys. One of the last times Leak returned to the victims, Leak told the victims his name was Joseph Grady [12] and he lived in a group home on Troy Highway. Leak said he could give them his name because no one would find him. Leak also said the last time he robbed someone he had to kill his victims. None of the victims heard Leak use Hall's name during the crimes. After a period of time, the victims realized Leak had left. They untied each other and called the police. Franklin testified that after the incident was over, she could tell that someone had gone through the items in her car. Jackson testified that Hall used to attend the Little People's Workshop, and that he lived directly behind the day care center. Franklin also knew Hall through a mutual friend, John Cartas, that the three of them used to go Wal-Mart together, and that Hall had enjoyed playing with Franklin's daughter.