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Smith v. State

The trial court should have severed defendant's trials for raping his neighbor and molesting his 4-year-old grandson in absence of evidence that the transactions were part of a single crime spree or were carried out in a similar manner.

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A jury found Michael Lamar Smith guilty of burglary, rape, and sexual battery in connection with his neighbor, and guilty of multiple counts of child molestation and cruelty to children in connection with his grandson. Smith contends that the trial court should have granted his motion to sever the trial of the offenses relating to his neighbor from those relating to his grandson. Because the offenses relating to the neighbor and those relating to the grandson were unrelated to each other, we agree and reverse.

On April 30, 1997, Smith’s neighbor stayed home from work because she had reinjured a recent appendectomy incision. She was taking pain medication that made her very sleepy, and was wearing only a flannel shirt and panties. Two friends came to check on her during their lunch hour, and she left the front door open so that she would not have to get out of bed to let them in. Shortly after her friends left, she heard her front door open again. She walked out of her bedroom and saw Smith, who lived across the street, standing in her house. He threw her on the bed and forced her to have sexual intercourse.

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