Pitts v. State

Cornelius Pitts, convicted by a jury of aggravated sodomy, appeals, contending that the trial court improperly tried his jury trial in conjunction with the nonjury trial of his co-defendant, Willie Sims. 1. Viewed with all inferences in favor of the jury’s verdict, Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979, the evidence was that, around 10:00p.m. on August 13, 1998, several neighbors heard a woman screaming for help and saw two men and a woman struggling on the ground. The men were trying to get the woman’s clothes off. At one point, the woman broke loose and ran out of the woods, but was grabbed and dragged back. One of the neighbors yelled she was going to call police and the men ran off. She went to the victim, M. G., who was scratched up, crying, had her clothes torn off, and appeared to be in shock.

M. G., who admitted that she was unemployed, had a $1,000 a day crack cocaine habit, and had done crack 30 minutes before the incident, saw Bradford and Pitts walking toward her that evening and heard Pitts, an African-American, say “that’s that white girl that lives on Dublin.” Co-defendant Sims came up and joined Bradford and Pitts. Pitts then grabbed M. G.’s arm and said she was either going to give him a “piece of ass or a blow job.” Bradford, at that point, walked a short distance away. When M. G. said no, Pitts hit her in the face and then Sims hit her. She was dragged into the woods, her dress torn, and Pitts forced his penis into her mouth while Sims held her down. Sims said he wanted a “piece of ass,” so M. G. was flipped over and he attempted to enter her from behind. At this point, neighbors were gathering and one yelled she was calling the police.