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Johnson v. State8/22/2001
No. 4433
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
David A. Johnson was accused of burglary in the first degree and assault in the first degree. The state's theory at trial was that Johnson and an unidentified female unlawfully entered the motel room of his former girlfriend, Selina Perkins, with the intent to assault her and that they assaulted her. Johnson defended on the theory that Eva Vaughan had entered Perkins's motel room and committed the assault by herself. In support of his theory, Johnson offered the testimony of Vaughan's roommate, Bernice Drew. Out of the presence of the jury, Johnson asserted that Drew would testify that she saw Vaughan running from the motel after Perkins was assaulted and that Vaughan stated, "I just beat her ass," and "that's what she gets for . . . screwing around with little brother." Superior Court Judge Mary E. Greene ruled that Vaughan's statements were hearsay and could not be allowed as "statements against interest" under Alaska Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3) because they were made to a trusted friend who was not likely to report the statements. We conclude that Judge Greene erred in denying admission of the statements on that ground. But because we conclude that Johnson needed to establish further factual issues for the statement to be admissible, we remand for further consideration of whether the statements are admissible.
Facts and proceedings
At 6:00 a.m. on December 15, 1997, police and medical personnel found Selina Perkins suffering from head and facial injuries in a Gaffney Motel room rented by her uncle, Gordon Roberts. Perkins's injuries included a swollen eye, swollen lips, a scalp laceration, and a fractured nasal bone. Perkins indicated to Fairbanks Police Officer James O'Malley that Johnson was responsible for her injuries. Dr. Gerald Springer, a doctor at the Chief Andrew Isaak Health Center, testified that Perkins's injuries were consistent with being hit by a bat. When she was admitted to the hospital, Perkins's blood alcohol level was .368. Perkins told Dr. Springer that she had been hit by a bat. While still hospitalized, Perkins identified Johnson and "some lady" as the people who assaulted her.
Throughout the evening and early morning preceding the assault, numerous people had been in the motel room drinking alcohol. Johnson and his girlfriend, Nicole James, were two of the people who had been in the room that night. Johnson and Perkins had had a relationship that ended the previous July. At the time of the assault, Perkins and Johnson had a one-month-old child. At some point during the night, Perkins's uncle or aunt asked Johnson and James to leave. At the time of the assault, Johnson was staying at the apartment of Bernice Drew and Eva Vaughan.
O'Malley testified at trial that when he questioned Johnson, Johnson said that he had earlier gone to the Gaffney Motel with two of Perkins's cousins, but when asked to leave, they left and did not return. Johnson told O'Malley that he went to the Townhouse Apartments after leaving the Gaffney Motel. Johnson denied returning to the motel room and denied assaulting Perkins. Johnson stated he knew who had committed the assault, but that he was not going to identify that person unless he was going to be released.
Perkins testified at trial that she was highly intoxicated the evening of the assault. She stated that she was sitting on the floor in the closet and talking on the phone when a woman suddenly grabbed her and started beating her. The woman accused her of "messing around with" the woman's little brother. Perkins had previously identified Vaughan from a photographic lineup as the lady who assaulted her, but at trial said she
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