Opinion ID: 78555
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Arrest and Identifying Evidence

Text: Officer Joyner immediately headed towards the park to investigate. (R11:496). On his way there, Joyner saw Cunningham, who was shirtless, wearing blue sweat pants, and carrying a backpack, walking towards town along the highway adjacent to the park. ( Id. at 522; R1:123-24). Joyner stopped and asked Cunningham if he had seen anything unusual at the park or had taken part in any confrontations that morning. (R11:498). After Cunningham responded in the negative, Joyner asked him to wait by the side of the road. ( Id. ) At that point, Joyner left Cunningham and drove through the park for several minutes to look for other potential suspects. ( Id. at 499, 530-31). Not seeing anyone in the park, Joyner returned to where Cunningham was still waiting on the side of the highway and took him into custody, explaining that he fit the description of a suspect Joyner was looking for. ( Id. ) Joyner frisked Cunningham before placing him in the police car, but found only a pack of cigarettes and a lighter that Cunningham had in his hands. ( Id. at 535). Officer Joyner then took Cunningham back to the police station and left him in the backseat of the police car while he went inside to talk to Brown. ( Id. at 501-02). Joyner told Brown that he had a suspect in custody and asked her to come outside to see if she could identify the man as her attacker. ( Id. at 502). Brown walked outside of the police station and identified Cunningham, who was seated in the backseat on the driver's side of the police car with the windows rolled up, as the man who had raped her. [5] (R1:128; R11:502, 544). Chief of Police Lacy Wilkerson then took Brown to McMillan Hospital, where a sexual assault examination was performed. (R3:439-46; R11:424). William H. Jones, a forensic biologist for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, later testified at Cunningham's trial that the tests he conducted on Brown's rape kit produced no evidence that either included or excluded [Cunningham] as being more than a suspect in this case. (R12:639). No seminal fluid was found during Brown's sexual assault examination, which was consistent with her testimony that her attacker wore a condom. ( Id. ) Meanwhile, Officer Joyner placed Cunningham under arrest and booked him. (R11:503). Joyner then proceeded to go through Cunningham's belongings. According to Joyner, he found somewhere on Cunningham's person a wallet with an unopened condom inside of it. ( Id. at 561-62). Among the contents that Joyner discovered in the backpack confiscated from Cunningham were a pair of black jeans and more unopened condoms. (R1:124-25). After he finished booking Cunningham, Officer Joyner left the police station to look for more evidence. (R11:563). Along the side of the highway where he had taken Cunningham into custody, Joyner found a knife lying on the ground. ( Id. at 566). Because Brown had told him that the rape took place on the side of the concession stand at the park, Joyner also went to that area of the park to investigate. ( Id. at 506-07). In that spot, he found an opened condom wrapper ( Id. at 508), which was the same brand as the condoms found in Cunningham's wallet and backpack ( id. at 508-09; R1:125).