Willis v. State

Per Curiam. The Appellant, George Willis, was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court of Baltimore of assault with intent to rape. Pie was sentenced by Judge Charles D. Harris, the presiding judge, to serve ten years in the Maryland Penitentiary. In this appeal the Appellant contends that the evidence in the lower court was legally insufficient to sustain his conviction. ⁶⁶⁴ The prosecuting witness testified that on November 7, 1966, at approximately 1:40 A.M., she was walking along Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore City.

As she reached Lanvale Street, two men came up behind her. One of them grabbed a package she was carrying and the other, the shorter of the two, grabbed her, twisted her arm behind her back, and pushed her into a small alley nearby. At the same time, he threw her to the ground and began ripping off her underclothing. Her screams were heard by Officer Carl Johnson of the Baltimore City Police and as he approached the scene of the crime, the taller of the two men who had been standing watch advised the attacker that the police were coming.

Both men then fled from the scene. Officer Johnson testified that upon arrival at the scene of the crime he saw Miss Robinson lying on the ground and saw two males running away from her. He gave chase and shortly thereafter apprehended a man whom he identified as the Appellant. He returned to Miss Robinson with the Appellant in custody and asked her if the Appellant was her attacker.

She said that he was and at the trial she so identified him. Officer Johnson stated that from the time he saw Miss Robinson in the alley to the time he apprehended the Appellant, no more than twenty-five or thirty seconds had elapsed, and he also stated that the Appellant was out of his sight for no more than three seconds during this time. The Officer further stated that when he apprehended the Appellant, he observed that his trousers were unzipped, leaving him exposed. Later that morning Officer Johnson escorted Miss Robinson to the Provident Hospital where it was revealed that she had suffered a fractured arm as a result of the attack.

The Appellant