Spruill v. Commonwealth

In this criminal appeal, we consider whether the trial court erroneously refused to admit certain testimonial evidence and whether the court misdirected the jury.

Defendant Charlie Spruill was convicted of rape and abduction, and sentenced to imprisonment for life and ten years, respectively. We awarded defendant an appeal from the June 1979 judgments of conviction.

On Friday, July 14, 1978, about 2:00 p.m., the victim was abducted at knife-point from a downtown parking area in Chase City, taken to a remote part of Mecklenberg County, and raped. On the date of the crimes, defendant was charged…