121 results for 'cat:"Kidnapping"'.
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that defendant was improperly convicted of kidnapping in the second degree because the lower court erroneously held that the merger doctrine did not apply, even if he had not been charged with the lesser offense of menacing. However, the court properly declined to instruct the jury on justification involving the use of ordinary physical force because evidence indicating that defendant applied force to the victim's neck to stop her from breathing could only support the conclusion that defendant used "deadly physical force."
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: KA 22-01350 , Categories: Jury, kidnapping, Menacing
J. Klappenbach finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, theft and firearm possession by a felon based on sufficient evidence. The victim testified defendant hit her, shoved the barrel of a gun into her mouth, transferred her to a different location, stole her ring, cell phone and money, all in an attempt to force her to hand over a friend's cremated ashes. The court impliedly granted defendant's request to sever offenses and bifurcate the trials for each count, though the same jury convicted on the offenses. Defendant's argument regarding the alleged denial of his opportunity to interview jurors is not preserved for appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CR-23-585, Categories: Jury, Assault, kidnapping
J. Standridge finds a lower court properly convicted and sentenced a defendant for first- degree felony murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated battery. The defendant, who serves a hard 25 life sentence and consecutive 13 months in prison, argued that the lower court erred in allowing the State to submit alternative means of aggravated kidnapping, and that evidence of was insufficient to support his conviction. However, the State presented sufficient evidence in court that "taking or confining" does not support alternative means of kidnapping or aggravated kidnapping. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Standridge, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 125685, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, kidnapping
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J. Kamins finds the trial court properly declined defendant’s motion for acquittal based on “evidence that defendant forced [the victim] to leave his home under threat of being shot, shoved him through the door, made him get into the car, including dictating where he sat, and caused him to be driven to a motel across the freeway, all under continuing threat of being shot.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Kamins, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: A179149, Categories: Evidence, kidnapping
J. Pirtle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for attempted kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault and sentenced him to 70 to 90 years imprisonment. Evidence shows defendant, a drug smuggler, lured the victims who he says stole his drugs to a welding shop by offering to sell them cocaine. He handcuffed the male victim, welding the cuffs to a table, and proceeded to torture him, hot-iron branding him with the word "thief" and forcing him to take 100 doses of LSD. He also sexually assaulted the female victim. All evidence supports the convictions, and the record refutes defendant's claims of ineffective assistance. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Pirtle , Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: A-23-780, Categories: Sex Offender, kidnapping, Mayhem
J. Potterfield finds that the lower court properly admitted statements that defendant's victim made while fleeing from defendant in his trial for willful injury causing bodily injury and false imprisonment because statements concerning defendant's potential prison sentence were not sufficiently specific to imply defendant had prior criminal convictions. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Potterfield, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 22-1448, Categories: Jury, Domestic Violence, kidnapping
J. Klappenbach finds the circuit court properly denied defendant's petition for postconviction relief. Convicted for kidnapping, battery, firearm possession, aggravated assault and terroristic threatening, defendant was tried within one year of being charged. He was not denied his right to speedy trial, and no argument or record evidence show he is entitled to relief. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: CR-22-748, Categories: Firearms, Battery, kidnapping
J. Flood finds that defendant was improperly sentenced for both first-degree kidnapping and sexual offense charges following his conviction for rape of a person 15 years of age or younger because the jury had been instructed that defendant could only be convicted of the kidnapping charge based on sexual offense charges for which he was also convicted, which violated double jeopardy. However, the court properly declined to suppress evidence obtained under warrants in light of probable cause that included the victim's claims that defendant kidnapped her from her parent's home and raped her at his own residence. Meanwhile, the affidavit listed items to be seized, including electronics, which the affidavit linked to the illegal activity. Affirmed in part.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Flood, Filed On: April 2, 2024, Case #: COA23-832, Categories: Search, Sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Edwards upholds defendant's jury conviction for violation of a protective order and guilty plea to burglary for the kidnapping and rape of his girlfriend. Defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to a psychologist's testimony pertaining to coercive control relationships, especially in light of the government's overwhelming evidence against defendant. Affirmed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Edwards, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 22-3058 , Categories: Ineffective Assistance, kidnapping, Restraining Order
J. Gamble finds that defendant was properly denied relief from his kidnapping and robbery conviction. Defendant contends counsel should have taken witness depositions before trial, but doing so would not have affected the outcome and, instead, would have resulted in witnesses identifying defendant before trial. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gamble, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 22-1589, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Robbery, kidnapping
J. Lui finds that the trial court properly denied defendants' petitions for resentencing on felony murder convictions. Defendants could be convicted of felony murder under current law despite changes to statute. The evidence shows one defendant had the specific intent to kill and both were major participants in a kidnapping that resulted in death and that they acted with reckless indifference to human life. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Lui, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: B322561, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, kidnapping
J. Kafker does not find that the defendant’s counsel was ineffective because it didn’t call a cell phone expert on her behalf. A cell phone expert would have been unlikely to change the jury’s conclusions about the defendant, who killed a pregnant woman and cut her baby out of her to keep as her own. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Kafker, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: SJC-12100, Categories: Murder, kidnapping, Experts
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant based on his guilty plea to kidnapping for attempting to flee the state with a 14-year-old girl, with whom he had alleged sexual contact, and her teenage friend because his valid appeal waiver precluded the harsh sentence claim. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 112812, Categories: Sentencing, kidnapping
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of criminal attempt to commit kidnapping but incorrectly convicted defendant of criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes and simple assault. Defendant tried to lure the victim into his car by falsely claiming that her father wanted defendant to pick her up. Although the trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict on the attempted kidnapping offense, there was no evidence that defendant was motivated by an act of indecency or child molestation. The evidence was also insufficient to support defendant's assault conviction. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: A23A1683, Categories: Assault, kidnapping, Child Victims
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's amended motion for a new trial on his rape, kidnapping and family violence aggravated assault and battery convictions. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including the victim's testimony that she had sex with defendant so he would stop beating her. The trial court correctly admitted into evidence letters defendant sent from jail. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: A23A1516, Categories: Sex Offender, Domestic Violence, kidnapping
J. Gladwin finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, kidnapping and firearm possession. After defendant and an accomplice were released on bond pending trial for drug charges, defendant was caught on surveillance video trading firearms with another party. Witnesses testified that defendant was involved in a heated discussion with the accomplice about who possessed the drugs and what would be testified to at trial. Defendant assaulted the accomplice after another party exacerbated the situation by accusing the accomplice of rape. The accomplice was then forced to get into the trunk of defendant's car before being taken to a remote location. He was later discovered in the burned-out vehicle, having been shot 4 times with a weapon defendant was known to possess. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: CR-23-407, Categories: Firearms, Murder, kidnapping
J. Aoyagi finds the evidence was legally sufficient to convict defendant of second-degree kidnapping and domestic violence. “After viciously assaulting and strangling [the victim]—including breaking her nose—defendant dragged [the victim] by her neck out of the motorhome, into the shed, and into his Jeep, and then attempted to leave the property with her.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Aoyagi, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: A178684, Categories: Evidence, Domestic Violence, kidnapping
[Consolidated.] J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence derived from real-time GPS and cell-site location information provided by T-Mobile to police. The evidence led to defendant's indictment for rape, kidnapping, robbery and other offenses. The trial court discredited a detective's testimony about the exigent circumstances request made by police and found that four statements in the request contained misrepresentations which exaggerated the exigency of the circumstances. The trial court also correctly rejected defendant's motion to dismiss three counts of the indictment related to the alleged rape in his vehicle. There is no evidence that police acted in bad faith by failing to prevent the vehicle from being vandalized before defendant could search for allegedly exculpatory evidence inside. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1444, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Yegan finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's petition for resentencing on a first degree murder conviction with a special circumstance of kidnapping. He directly aided and abetted the murder with an intentional plan to kill. "Leniency for a person who orders his cohorts to murder a 15-year-old child with a machine gun? The child is dead and our answer is, no." Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Yegan, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: B323018, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, kidnapping
J. Erickson finds a lower court properly dismissed a defendant's motion for a new trial on claims of violations of his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. The defendant, who was convicted on charges of kidnapping, interstate domestic violence, and strangulation, argued that the lower court excluded evidence that his dating partner had undergone previous trauma, which included past abortions and the death of her previous partner, who committed suicide. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that his attempt to present evidence of her prior trauma did not bolster his alleged innocence, and that she was not a willing participant in the "alleged consensual asphyxiation." Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Erickson, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 23-1345, Categories: Evidence, Domestic Violence, kidnapping
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to sever various criminal charges to allow for separate trials as to each of his victims. The evidence for each victim was simple and direct and would have been admissible as other acts evidence if separate trials had taken place. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to merge kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault and rape convictions because his prolonged seizure of the victim was a separate and distinct animus from the rape of the victim, which allowed each conviction to carry its own sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-684, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender, kidnapping
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the court of appeals denies the institute's petitions for writs of mandamus seeking to challenge the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss assault, false imprisonment and sexual abuse claims. The lawsuit alleges the institute is a cult that teaches allegedly heretical Christian doctrine, homeschooling and paramilitary training for young males, and grooms girls to be compliant sexual assault victims. In the early stages of litigation, the institute's relators are not entitled to dismissal of the real parties in interest's civil conspiracy claim under the rule governing baseless claims.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00296-CV, Categories: Sex Offender, Conspiracy, kidnapping
J. Sutton finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of rape, sodomy, and kidnapping. The state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant locked the victim in the trunk of her car and drover her to a secluded spot so he could force her to perform oral sex at gunpoint. Further, the court did not err in declining to answer the jury's question about whether defendant's sentences would run consecutively or concurrently. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: WD85844, Categories: Sex Offender, kidnapping, Jury Instructions
Per curiam, the circuit finds the district court properly denied both defendants' motions for continuance and properly sentenced them both to life in prison on their RICO conspiracy, kidnapping and related convictions. Although they argue the district court improperly allowed an unlisted government witness to testify and failed to grant an alternative discovery motion, there is no general constitutional right to pretrial discovery of witnesses in non-capital cases. The within-guidelines sentences are reasonable. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 22-40619, Categories: Sentencing, kidnapping, Racketeering
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of offenses including attempted murder, attempted feticide and kidnapping with bodily injury. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's kidnapping conviction. The evidence showed that defendant pulled the victim into his apartment from outside and assaulted her for hours. Defendant cannot show that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to request a jury instruction on attempted voluntary manslaughter because the evidence did not support that instruction. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1768, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, kidnapping