Opinion ID: 1993689
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts based on testimony of state's witnesses

Text: The charges against Robinson arose out of an incident occurring on a Sunday morning at approximately 7:30 a.m. on August 13, 1989 in Room 400 at the nursing home facility known as the Layton Home. At the time of this incident, Robinson had been employed at the Layton Home for over two years as a nurse's aide. Room 400, which was the home for four elderly residents, was 14 feet by 14 feet in dimension. In this room, Jane Roe, eighty-five years of age, had been quietly sitting in her wheelchair. Meanwhile, two housekeepers were doing the daily housecleaning and bringing fresh linen to Roe and her roommates. While the two housekeepers were working, defendant Robinson and codefendant Jones, both of whom were employed at the Layton Home, came into Room 400. Ignoring the two housekeepers and the other residents in the room, Robinson approached Roe and allegedly stated in an insincere tone of voice that someone had been stealing some of Roe's clothes. This statement was not true. Roe, who was very possessive of her belongings, immediately became very upset. While the record is unclear on the exact sequence of the subsequent events, the Court will relate them as they could have been found to have occurred. Throughout this incident, the defendants and Roe maintained an abusive dialogue, which sometimes became quite loud. A total of six towels (as many as three at one time) were thrown at Roe by codefendant Yvette Jones as Roe sat confined to her wheelchair. Meanwhile, Robinson took a cup of water and, out of Roe's sight, used her fingers to throw drops of water on Roe. At the same time, Robinson mimicked the sound of spitting which further upset Roe. Roe cried out for Robinson to stop spitting on her and for the two defendants to get away from her. Apparently in response to Roe telling Robinson to Get away from me you bitch, Robinson told her It takes one to know one. Robinson also admitted that she had called Roe mean and had told her to shut up and had argued briefly with Roe. In the meantime, Robinson had also placed a small artificial flowerpot on Roe's head. When the flowerpot fell to the floor a second later, the defendants laughed. With Roe now yelling bloody murder, Robinson told her to kiss [my] butt which prompted Roe to respond with an identical suggestion. Not to be outdone, Robinson repeated the statement a second time, stood in front of Roe, lifted her nurse's uniform, shook her rear end, and placed it on the meal table of Roe's wheelchair. Roe managed to push Robinson away and yelled that God would punish the defendants for their conduct. The entire incident lasted approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. Additional facts will be presented as necessary to address Robinson's contentions on appeal. The defendant testified that there was a relatively brief verbal exchange and some laughter. Then she left the room without having taken part in any of the other actions outlined above. She also testified that she had none of the various intentions required by the statute.