GUILTY:

Man to serve 25 years for rape

A Jones County Jury found the defendant guilty in a trial for the crime of rape last week, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to serve in prison.

Anthony Vijay Whisler, 26, was arrested March 14 and charged with rape. He was indicted for the crime by a Jones County Grand jury April 11. Whisler was given a life sentence by Chief Superior Court Judge Brenda Trammell, which was spelled out to mean the first 25 years in confinement and the remainder of his life on probation.

District Attorney Wright Barksdale prosecuted the case, and the defendant was represented by defense attorney Floyd Buford.

Following the guilty verdict, Barksdale asked the judge to sentence Whisler to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Buford asked for the minimum sentence for his client.

“I have the utmost respect for the role of the jury, but respectfully, we think they got it very wrong,” he said.

Trammell did not agree.

“I think the jury got it right, and I think the defendant is a predator,” she said.

The judge said she was giving Whisler 25 years with the hope that something happens to change him. Trammell added that the probation he would serve, after serving the 25 years in prison, would be served under sex offender conditions.

The trial began with jury selection Dec. 4, which took the majority of the day. The attorneys gave their opening statements beginning at 3 p.m., and the jury heard from one state’s witness before the first day ended at 3:45 p.m.

The case was not a typical rape case from the beginning. During opening statements, the jury learned that crime of rape was charged because the victim in the case claimed she was passed out when the crime occurred.

It was up to the state to prove to the jury that was the case, which would mean she could not have given consent. The defense’s contention was, although the victim had been by all accounts ‘black out drunk’ when she arrived at the defendant’s home, she was sober later and gave consent to having sex.

Tuesday

Day one started with the testimony of the victim, who admitted to only remembering bits and pieces of the morning the crime happened. She talked about going to a Macon night club Feb. 25 with her friend and meeting the defendant and his friend.

The victim said they arrived at the club at 1 a.m., which made it the early hours of Saturday morning, and tried to drink all they could before the 2 a.m. closing time.

The state showed video from the club showing the victim drinking at the bar and her inebriated condition as the hours progressed. She said she did not remember much about her and her friend Maggie going to the defendant’s home until she woke up in pain and bleeding later that day.

The victim said she did not remember having sex and was still drunk when she arrived at her home that afternoon.

She said she did not report the rape until 2 days later and did not really know if she could after that much time had passed.

The defense questioned the time the victim had her last drink and when other events took place. Her response to a majority of those questions was that she did not remember.

The next witness was the victim’s friend, Maggie Meeks. The witness talked about what she remembered about the club and going to Whisler’s home after. She said she went there to meet with Jonathan Hill, and he brought the defendant. Meeks also said they were drinking as much as they could before the club closed.

“I was completely plastered, and she was even more drunk,” the witness said.

Meeks said the people at the club were concerned for the victim’s safety because of how drunk she was. She said ‘the boys’ were told to leave out of that concern, and they did. But, she called Hill to come back and pick them up.

Buford questioned Meeks about the victim’s reluctance to go to the police about what happened. The witness said that was true, but she ultimately supported the victim’s decision.

The state called three men who were at the club that evening who told one story. Two of them worked there and the other was a customer. They each testified about how drunk the victim was and they warned the defendant not to take advantage of her.

Buford asked about the victim’s behavior with other men at the club and if she was falling around and grabbing people. He also asked the witnesses about the closing time at the bar and when they quit serving alcohol.

After lunch, the jury heard from Warner Robins Police Officer Ashley Lowry, who was the first to take the victim’s report Feb. 26, and then Jones County Sheriff’s Office Corp. Jeff Sullivan.

Lowry contacted JCSO after determining the crime occurred at a residence in Jones County, and Sullivan went to Warner Robins to talk to the victim.

Both interviews with the officers were recorded on their body cams and shown to the jury. The victim’s statements were consistent in both interviews.

Sullivan’s testimony included the first contact by law enforcement with Whisler that took place early Monday morning, Feb. 27. The corporal was accompanied by JCSO Investigator Gerry Nelson. Sullivan’s body cam recorded Whisler’s reaction to finding out that he was being accused of rape.

The defendant appeared surprised and was taken to the Jones County Law Enforcement Center for questioning. Instead of being questioned by investigators that morning, however, Whisler was recorded by Sullivan’s body cam while waiting in the breakroom.

The corporal worked on paperwork and waited with the defendant, who rambled on for more than an hour about what had happened, without that first question being asked.

Buford asserted in his cross examination of Sullivan that the hourlong dissertation of his client was him being cooperative with law enforcement.

In an unusual turn of events, the trial did not continue again until Friday. Jury members were informed upon their arrival Wednesday morning that the defense attorney was ill and were called Thursday morning with the same news.

The trial did not resume until Friday morning.

Final day

JCSO Investigator Crystal Murphy was the lead investigator in the case and took the stand the first time Friday morning to explain that calls made by inmates while in the jail were recorded.

Hill was the second witness Friday and testified to his point of view of how the events of Feb. 25 took place. He said he went to the club to meet up with Maggie, and Whisler came with him.

The witness said the victim had a lot to drink, and he told the defendant not to have sex with her.

“She was not in her right state of mind,” Hill said.

In answer to Barksdale’s questions, the witness gave the court a timeline of events. He said they arrived at Whisler’s home between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Hill spoke about hearing sounds of sexual activity from the defendant’s bedroom where the victim was sleeping.

The witness also recalled the victim stating she felt like she had been raped on the ride back to the club to pick up Meeks’ car. He said they stopped on the way to get a Plan B pill.

Barksdale’s next questions concerned phone calls made to Hill from the defendant while he was in jail. At the beginning of each phone call, inmates are reminded that the calls are recorded.

The first phone call played for the jury was Whisler asking Hill to talk to Meeks. He wanted her to get the victim to drop the charges. The second call made a couple of weeks later included threats about coming after Meeks.

Buford questioned Hill about how much the victim drank and when she had her last drink.

Murphy was called back to the stand. In her role as lead investigator, she interviewed the principals in the case. It was during her testimony that the Feb. 27 interviews with Whisler and the victim were played in court.

The interview with the victim was much like others between her and officers. Murphy said she was very upset and concerned about her lack of memory. The victim told the investigator, when she realized what happened to her, she felt she needed to report it.

The defendant’s interview was played next. Whisler stated Hill asked him to go to the club. He said he had one drink and then played pool. He told Murphy the victim was so drunk, he found her unattractive. It was his contention that the victim came on to him and asked him to get into bed and have sex with her.

The defendant said he was trying to be a nice guy by seeing that the two girls who had both drank too much were safe and not trying to drive.

Whisler said he thought she was sober when they had sex. But he admitted when she woke up later, she asked him if they had sex. The defendant said all seemed OK the next morning. He told the investigator she asked him to stop on the way back to the car to get a Plan B pill, and he did.

At the end of the interview, he blamed Hill for “always getting him in the mud,” and he said when it was all over, he was going to file charges for false accusations.

Buford asked Murphy for details of the investigations. He asked what time the victim had her last drink and how many drinks she had. The investigator said she had been unable to get exact information for either.

In his redirect, Barksdale asked Murphy about a March 17 phone call, which was subsequently played in court. Whisler is heard making threats on the call.

“I’m going to sue these people; I’m going to hurt these people.”

The state’s final two witness were other women who had encounters with Whisler. Neither of the witnesses filed reports of the incidents but had commented about their experiences on the JCSO Facebook page when the charges against the defendant were made public.

The state rested its case at 3:15 p.m. The defense did not present any evidence and rested its case at 3:40 p.m. following a break.

Closing statements

Barksdale gave an opening statement and a closing statement, which is the state’s right. He began by reminding jurors that he asked each of them if they could follow the law during jury selection, and each said they could.

He also went over the elements needed for a defendant to be found guilty of rape.

Buford talked about the importance of when the complainant had her last drink, which he contended was before 2 a.m. He also pushed the time of the sex to as late as 9 a.m. and made the argument that the complainant had to be at least somewhat sober.

The defense attorney said the complainant’s conduct was irresponsible, and the couple had consensual sex.

“The state’s case is in shambles. They can’t prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

In his final remarks, Barksdale said the case was about consent. He said it was not just about whether the victim said yes, but if she had the ability to say yes. The prosecutor emphasized that against her will means without her consent.

He told the jury they had a unique advantage of seeing the video of what happened at the club.

“Everybody told him no. Is it OK to rape someone because they drank too much and were irresponsible?” the prosecutor asked. “What are the chances that everyone else is lying?”

Barksdale went over every element of what constitutes rape and said the state had proven each one. He concluded by asking the jury to follow the law.

Verdict

At the conclusion of the closings, Trammell gave the jury charge, which defined the rape charge for jurors and explained what was required for the defendant to be found guilty of the charge.

The jury received the case for their deliberations at 5:20 p.m.

Jurors asked the court three questions, and then brought back the verdict at 8:15 p.m.

Trammell asked the foreperson if the verdict was unanimous, and he said it was.

The judge then asked the foreperson to give the signed verdict form to Deputy Court Clerk Grover Murray, who read the guilty verdict to the court.

The trial immediately went into the sentencing phase, which consisted solely of attorney’s arguments.