Washington v. State

The defendant's convictions for malicious confinement and false swearing did not merge as a matter of fact since ample evidence supported each distinct element of those crimes.

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Ron Washington was convicted by a jury of aggravated stalking, malicious confinement of a sane person and false swearing. He appeals following the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective and that his convictions for malicious confinement and false swearing merged. The evidence, construed to support the verdict, shows that Washington was first ordered to stay away from the victim after he was arrested following a domestic dispute. Washington entered a guilty plea to a charge of simple battery stemming from that incident, and at his sentencing on September 23, 2002, he was again ordered to stay away from the victim and to leave the county. However, when Washington was released from jail on that date, he immediately returned to the trailer park where the victim lived, and was arrested for violating the stay away order. When Washington was released after that incident, he went to court and swore out a warrant for the victim, saying that she had broken out his windshield. However, at the time the victim was supposedly committing this crime, she was meeting with an assistant from the solicitor’s office and a victim-witness advocate. Washington was arrested for giving false information to a police officer, and taken back to jail. The solicitor also issued a warrant for Washington based on violating his probation.

Washington was subsequently released on November 7, 2002. After he was released on that date, he went to the probate court and executed an affidavit, under oath, that based on his knowledge of the victim within the preceding 48 hours, she was suicidal and was using crack cocaine and refusing to get treatment. The affidavit contained another signature that was illegible, and this person was never identified, although there was some evidence that the person was posing as the victim’s father, who was deceased.

Washington v. State

The defendant's convictions for malicious confinement and false swearing did not merge as a matter of fact since ample evidence supported each distinct element of those crimes.

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