Neal v. State

The trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion to suppress the photo lineup from which the victim identified him on the basis that it brought his character into evidence because it was not apparent from the photo that the defendant was wearing prison clothing.

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Willie Henry Neal was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He appeals the judgment and the denial of his amended motions for new trial. He contends that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, that the court erred by denying his motion to suppress, that the trial was flawed by prosecutorial misconduct, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm. 1. At trial, the victim testified that late on the night of September 5, 2003, as she was waiting for her mother to pick her up after a high school football game, a man she did not know approached her, asked her a question, walked away for a moment but returned. The man then grabbed her, tried to pick her up, and dragged her to some bushes as she attempted to fight with him to get away. The man threatened her with a knife, forced her pants and underwear off, choked her, and had intercourse with her over her screams and protests. Afterward he told her not to tell her parents, that he knew where she lived, and that if she told anybody, he was going to kill her. He even correctly told her the area where she lived and what type of car her mother drove. He then rode away on a bicycle. The victim’s mother did not arrive, so the victim began to walk home when the man returned on the bicycle and again threatened her not to tell.

There was blood on her jeans when she got home. She told her mother what had happened, and they went to the hospital for an examination and later to the police station to make a report. A sexual assault kit was prepared at the hospital. There was medical evidence of penetration. The investigation of the incident took some time, and, about two years later, the victim selected Neal from a photographic lineup. At some point the rape kit was submitted for comparison with a cheek swab taken from Neal, and the substances found on the victim revealed semen and DNA from Neal. At trial, the victim identified Neal as the rapist.

Neal v. State

The trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion to suppress the photo lineup from which the victim identified him on the basis that it brought his character into evidence because it was not apparent from the photo that the defendant was wearing prison clothing.

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