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A Lee County District Judge has found probable cause in the case against two former Tiger Transit drivers, Tony Patillo and James Johnson Jr., who are charged with first-degree rape and sodomy of an 18-year-old Auburn student.
District Judge Steven Speakman determined Wednesday that there is enough evidence for prosecutors to present the charges to a grand jury for an indictment. If an indictment is obtained, the felony charges will go to trial in Lee County Circuit Court.
Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes questioned Auburn Police Division Sgt. Michael Craeton, the detective in charge of the case, who said video evidence shows Patillo forcing the victim, who appeared to be incapacitated, to perform oral sex on him.
The Tiger Transit bus on which part of the alleged assault took place has four video cameras. Investigators have reviewed much of the video, though some is still being enhanced. The video, according to Craeton's testimony, shows Patillo guiding the victim from her seat on the front of the bus to the rear of the bus, where he allegedly forced her head down to his crotch.
Creaton said Patillo later raped the victim in the back of the bus, according to the video evidence, which showed Patillo standing over the victim, with his legs in the aisle "moving back and forth" with the victim's leg thrown around him.
"She was raped. She was sodomized. And Mr. Johnson was in on it," Hughes said.
Johnson, who was identified as the driver of the Tiger Ten bus Patillo and the victim were riding on, is accused of being an accomplice in the crime. Craeton said video evidence shows Johnson turned off the bus lights and gave Patillo a warning before he turned the lights back on as another passenger got on the bus.
"Mr. Johnson facilitated that sexual assault," Craeton said. "He knew something was going on."
Johnson's attorney — Sherri L. Mazur, a former Montgomery County deputy district attorney — said Johnson, who was in his first few months on the job, was not aware of any sexual assault on the bus and was simply following directions from a senior bus driver.
Craeton, however, said Patillo and Johnson could be heard on video recordings discussing the victim's incapacitation, though they can't be heard making any plans or discussing any sexual assault.
"Oh, she knocked out isn't she," Patillo said on the recording, according to Craeton's account. Later, before turning the lights back on, Craeton said Johnson could be heard telling Patillo, "Yo, yo, it's loud."
"I believe Mr. Johnson knew what he was doing," Speakman said when he found probable cause against Johnson.
A DNA test performed on Patillo the night of the alleged attacked showed the victim's DNA on Patillo's penis and scrotum. The victim, however, was not found by police until later the next day at about 3 p.m. She did not remember the attack or what happened the night before.
"She wasn't able to stand or walk on her own," Craeton said.
When police found her, she was taken to East Alabama Medical Center for a rape kit, according to court testimony. Patillo's DNA did not turn up in the victim's rape kit, which was performed more than 14 hours later.
Craeton said the victim's underwear could not be located even after an exhaustive search of the bus and the area where Patillo was found, which could serve as circumstancial evidence that Patillo took her underwear and shorts off in order to rape her.
The District Attorney's witness said four witnesses later spotted Patillo standing over the victim on the side of the road near Aspen Heights Lane and Dekalb Street. After making several drives by, and noticing his pants were down, the witnesses called police noting that "something didn't feel right," according to Craeton.
Craeton said video evidence showed Patillo had exited the bus with the victim near the bus stop in that area, close to where he was later sighted standing over the victim with his pants pulled down.
When police arrived, the victim was gone. They located her the next day after reviewing the video evidence. Patillo is also being charged with four counts of public lewdness.
After interviewing a Tiger Transit supervisor and reviewing video evidence from SkyBar Cafe, investigators determined that the victim became extremely drunk at SkyBar, even throwing up in a trash can, before two acquaintances put her on the bus and gave Johnson directions to take her home.
Craeton said Johnson took her home, but she did not get off the bus during the first trip to her residence. She was sleeping and incapacitated, murmuring something unintelligible to Johnson before he drove back downtown to speak with a supervisor about what to do.
The Tiger Transit supervisor told Johnson to try taking her home again and if she didn't get off, they would call law enforcement or an ambulance to help. But that's when Patillo got on the bus and the second ride, which allegedly ended in the assault, began.
Speakman ordered a test to determine if Patillo was infected with any sexually transmitted diseases over the objection of Patillo's defense attorney, Howard Morris. The test results will not be used in the prosecution.
Morris said evidence did not clearly link Patillo to any crime. Because the lights were off on the video evidence, the rape charges were based on detective's interpretations of the video.
Craeton said the video clearly showed Patillo forcing her to perform oral sex.
The case has been bound over to circuit court, which handles felony cases. It could take several months before a grand jury can hear the case and return an indictment. Patillo remains in jail after having his bond revoked last month.
Johnson is out on bond. Law enforcement monitor his location through an ankle bracelet.
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Chip Brownlee, senior in journalism and political science, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
