State v. Riquelme ( 2014 )

An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute
controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance
with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.
NO. COA14-289
NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS
Filed: 7 October 2014
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
v. Union County
No. 12 CRS 52806
DANIEL HERNANDEZ RIQUELME
Appeal by defendant from judgment entered 18 September 2013
by Judge Jeffrey P. Hunt in Union County Superior Court. Heard
in the Court of Appeals 9 September 2014.
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General
Jennifer T. Harrod, for the State.
James W. Carter for defendant-appellant.
BRYANT, Judge.
Where the trial court did not err in admitting the video of
the witness’ interview with police as corroborating evidence and
where the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion
to dismiss the charge of taking indecent liberties with a child,
we hold no error.
-2-
On 4 September 2012, a Union County Grand Jury indicted
defendant on one count of taking indecent liberties with a
minor. The matter came to trial on 16 September 2013 before a
Union County jury, the Honorable Jeffery P. Hunt, Judge
presiding. The evidence presented at trial tended to show that
in May 2012, Carl,1 a nine-year-old boy who lived in the same
apartment complex as defendant, went to defendant’s apartment to
ask for money. Carl wanted to buy his mother a Mother’s Day
gift. Carl had been to defendant’s residence before to watch a
movie, and defendant had previously purchased toys for Carl.
Defendant said he would give Carl money and invited Carl into
the residence. Defendant instructed Carl to go to defendant’s
bed. While Carl lay on the bed, defendant instructed Carl to
close his eyes. Then defendant kissed Carl on his mouth and
neck. Carl testified that this went on for ten to fifteen
minutes before Carl made up an excuse to leave.
Later, when Carl’s younger brother told his mother that he
had been in defendant’s apartment, Carl told his mother what had
happened while Carl was inside defendant’s apartment. Carl’s
mother immediately called the police.
1
A pseudonym has been used to protect the identity of the
juvenile.
-3-
After the presentation of evidence and arguments of
counsel, the jury found defendant guilty of taking indecent
liberties with a child. The trial court entered judgment in
accordance with the jury verdict and sentenced defendant to an
active term of 16 to 29 months. Defendant appeals.
_______________________________________
On appeal, defendant raises the following issues, whether
the trial court: (I) committed plain error by admitting the
video of Carl’s interview with police; and (II) erred in denying
defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge of taking indecent
liberties with a child.
I
Defendant argues that the trial court committed plain error
by admitting the video of Detective Garcia’s interview with
Carl. Specifically, defendant contends that statements made
during Carl’s interview with Detective Garcia contradicted his
trial testimony and went beyond the scope of his testimony at
trial, introducing new facts. On these grounds, defendant
contends that he is entitled to a new trial. We disagree.
For error to constitute plain error, a
defendant must demonstrate that a
fundamental error occurred at trial. To show
that an error was fundamental, a defendant
must establish prejudice—that, after
examination of the entire record, the error
-4-
had a probable impact on the jury's finding
that the defendant was guilty. Moreover,
because plain error is to be applied
cautiously and only in the exceptional case,
the error will often be one that seriously
affects the fairness, integrity or public
reputation of judicial proceedings.
State v. Lawrence, 365 N.C. 506, 518, 723 S.E.2d 326, 334 (2012)
(citations and quotations omitted).
“A witness’s prior consistent statements may be admitted to
corroborate the witness's courtroom testimony.” State v.
Harrison, 328 N.C. 678, 681, 403 S.E.2d 301, 303 (1991)
(citation and quotations omitted). “Corroboration is the
process of persuading the trier of the facts that a witness is
credible. We have defined ‘corroborate’ as to strengthen; to
add weight or credibility to a thing by additional and
confirming acts or evidence.” State v. Ramey, 318 N.C. 457,
468, 349 S.E.2d 566, 573 (1986) (citations and quotations
omitted). “In order to be corroborative and therefore properly
admissible, the prior statement of the witness need not merely
relate to specific facts brought out in the witness's testimony
at trial, so long as the prior statement in fact tends to add
weight or credibility to such testimony.” Id. at 469, 349
S.E.2d at 573 (citations omitted). “[T]he witness's prior
contradictory statements may not be admitted under the guise of
-5-
corroborating his testimony.” State v. McCree, 160 N.C. App.
200, 207, 584 S.E.2d 861, 866 (2003) (citation omitted).
However, “[i]f the previous statements offered in corroboration
are generally consistent with the witness' testimony, slight
variations between them will not render the statements
inadmissible. Such variations affect only the credibility of the
evidence which is always for the jury.” Harrison, 328 N.C. at
681—82, 403 S.E.2d at 304 (citations and quotations omitted).
Defendant contends that statements made in Carl’s video-
recorded interview with Detective Garcia contradicted and “went
far beyond” Carl’s trial testimony. We note Carl’s video-
recorded interview was accepted into evidence and played for the
jury during Detective Garcia’s testimony, prior to the time Carl
testified as a witness. In the video, Detective Garcia
questions Carl about the sequence of events which led Carl into
defendant’s apartment. Defendant points out that Carl initially
states that he went to defendant’s residence and “[h]e dragged
me into—.” “What did he say?” “That he was going to give me
money.” Later in the interview, Detective Garcia again asked
Carl to explain what happened when he went to defendant’s
apartment.
Detective Garcia: Explain to me what
happened when you went to his house,
-6-
what happened?
. . .
When you were outside and he told you
he was going to give you twenty
dollars. How did it happen when you
went inside?
Carl: First off, I went to his house, I
told you. About if I could give him a
smoothie [made with strawberries] and
he really, really wanted me to come in
there. Then he told me he would give
me twenty dollars.
Detective Garcia: And then what happened?
Carl: Then he pushed me to his bed.
During the trial, Carl testified that he went to defendant’s
apartment and asked defendant “if I can borrow like some money.
And then he said sure. And then he told me then to get -- like
go into the bed . . . .” The difference between Carl’s
testimony at trial, that defendant told him to “go in to the
bed” and his video statement that defendant “pushed [Carl] to
his bed,” is a slight variation that affects only the
credibility and not the admissibility of the video-taped
statements. Carl’s statements made during his interview with
Detective Garcia are not inconsistent with Carl’s trial
testimony. Therefore, as to this point, defendant’s argument is
overruled.
-7-
Defendant goes on to argue that the jury found defendant
guilty of taking indecent liberties with a child in part based
on the allegation that “[defendant] told the child to stick out
his tongue” so that defendant could kiss him in the mouth.
Defendant contends there was no substantive evidence that
defendant kissed Carl on the mouth and that the only such
evidence came from Carl’s interview with Detective Garcia
admitted for purposes of corroboration. However, we note Carl’s
testimony during direct examination at trial.
A So I went to his house -- I mean
apartment. And he said sure. Then he
told me to go to the bed and was
kissing me. Oh, yeah, then he told me
to stick my tongue out.
. . .
Q Where on your body did he kiss you?
A My mouth, my neck a little bit, and he
touched me like kind of my arms --
well, maybe my arms.
. . .
Q When this was happening, [Carl], how
did you feel?
A Well, disgusted.
This testimony supports the charge that defendant had Carl
stick out his tongue so defendant could kiss Carl in the mouth
and that defendant did kiss Carl in the mouth. The challenged
-8-
video-recorded statements made by Carl during the course of his
interview with Detective Garcia did not go beyond the scope of
Carl’s trial testimony and was properly admitted as
corroborative evidence. Therefore, the trial court did not err
in admitting the video recording as corroborating evidence.
Accordingly, defendant’s argument is overruled.
II
Next, defendant argues that the trial court erred in
denying defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge of taking
indecent liberties with a child. Specifically, defendant
contends there was no evidence defendant willfully committed or
attempted to take any immoral, improper, or indecent liberties
with Carl for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual
desire nor did he willfully commit or attempt to commit any lewd
or lascivious act upon Carl. We disagree.
“We review denial of a motion to dismiss criminal charges
de novo, to determine whether there is substantial evidence (1)
of each essential element of the offense charged, or of a lesser
offense included therein, and (2) of defendant's being the
perpetrator of such offense.” State v. Mobley, 206 N.C. App.
285, 291, 696 S.E.2d 862, 866 (2010) (citation and quotations
omitted). “[T]he trial court must analyze the evidence in the
-9-
light most favorable to the State and give the State the benefit
of every reasonable inference from the evidence. . . . The
trial court does not weigh the evidence, consider evidence
unfavorable to the State, or determine any witness'
credibility.” State v. Trogdon, 216 N.C. App. 15, 25, 715
S.E.2d 635, 641 (2011) (citation and quotations omitted).
Pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes, section 14-
202.1,
[a] person is guilty of taking indecent
liberties with children if, being 16 years
of age or more and at least five years older
than the child in question, he either:
(1) Willfully takes or attempts to take
any immoral, improper, or indecent
liberties with any child of either sex
under the age of 16 years for the
purpose of arousing or gratifying
sexual desire; or
(2) Willfully commits or attempts to
commit any lewd or lascivious act upon
or with the body or any part or member
of the body of any child of either sex
under the age of 16 years.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202.1(a) (2013).
Defendant testified in his own defense and admitted that at
the time of trial he was forty-one years old. Carl testified
that at the time of trial he was ten years old. Carl further
testified that he went to defendant’s apartment to ask for some
-10-
money to buy a Mother’s Day gift. Once inside defendant’s
apartment, Carl testified that defendant told him to go to
defendant’s bed and there, started kissing him. Carl testified
that he was lying on the bed and defendant was on top of him.
Q Where on your body did he kiss you?
A My mouth, my neck a little bit, and he
touched me like kind of my arms --
well, maybe my arms.
Carl testified that this encounter went on for ten to fifteen
minutes.
As there was substantial evidence that defendant was more
than five years older than Carl—who was less than sixteen years
old—and that defendant took immoral, improper, or indecent
liberties with Carl for the purpose of arousing or gratifying
sexual desire,2 the trial court did not err in denying
defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge of taking indecent
2
In State v. Hammett, this Court held that “[the] defendant's
action in ‘french kissing’ [his thirteen-year-old daughter]
constituted a lewd or lascivious act within the meaning of G.S.
§ 14–202.1(a)(2).” 182 N.C. App. 316, 322, 642 S.E.2d 454, 458
(2007). See also State v. Banks, 322 N.C. 753, 767, 370 S.E.2d
398, 407 (1988) (holding that where defendant—a thirty-year-old
man—kissed two eight-year-old girls, “putting his tongue in
their mouths, ears and noses,” the trial court’s instruction
that such acts were “immoral, improper, or indecent” within the
meaning of subsection (1) of N.C. Gen. Stat. ' 14-202.1 and
“lewd or lascivious” within the meaning of subsection (2) was
proper).
-11-
liberties with a child. See Mobley, 206 N.C. App. at 291, 696
S.E.2d at 866. Accordingly, this argument is overruled.
No error.
Chief Judge McGEE and Judge STROUD concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).