Thompson v. State

Citation359 S.E.2d 664,257 Ga. 386
Decision Date09 September 1987
Docket NumberNo. 44661,44661
PartiesTHOMPSON v. The STATE.
CourtGeorgia Supreme Court

Mark J. Kadish, Alan J. Baverman, Katz, Cherry & Kadish, Atlanta, for Darryl Eugene Thompson.

Lewis R. Slaton, Dist. Atty., H. Allen Moye, John M. Turner, Jr., Asst. Dist. Attys., Atlanta, Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Dennis R. Dunn, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

SMITH, Justice.

The appellant, Darryl Eugene Thompson, was convicted of the murder and armed robbery of Harold Barrett. He was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for the armed robbery and life imprisonment for the murder, with the sentences to run consecutively. We affirm. 1

The victim's girlfriend testified that the victim was in the habit of wearing a large quantity of expensive jewelry and that he had over $1,200 in cash with him the day of his death. She testified that the victim called her from his car telephone at approximately 7:00 o'clock the evening of May 15, 1985, and told her that he was going to get a saw for the appellant so that he could cut some bushes.

The appellant had been employed for several months to do the victim's yard work and on the day of the murder he was working in the yard.

When the police arrived on the afternoon of May 16, 1985, they noticed that the lawn was only partially cut and the victim's Mercedes 450 SL was missing. The victim was found with a large towel over his head and his body was leaning face first against a wall near the bathroom of his home. He had been stabbed seven times with a knife and he died as a result of multiple stab wounds. There was a great deal of blood where the body was found and also in the nearby bathroom. Bloody footprints that were made by some type of tennis shoes were found on the floor near the body and also in the hallway. The victim's jewelry and cash were gone and his trouser pockets had been turned inside out.

The victim's girlfriend told the police that the appellant had been employed by the victim. The police located him in a bar where he was uncharacteristically buying drinks for other patrons.

The appellant initially denied being at the victim's home the day of the murder. Later he told detectives that he had gone into the house to get a drink of water when he noticed blood in the hallway, found the victim in the bathroom, leaned the victim against the wall, covered his head with a towel, and left the house. He made no attempt to call the police. The shoes that the appellant was wearing when he was picked up were the same type tennis shoe that made the bloody footprints in the victim's home, and they had blood matching that of the victim on them.

1. Reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found the appellant guilty as charged. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

2. The appellant asserts that he was denied effective assistance of counsel and thus a reversal is necessary.

In Smith v. State, 255 Ga. 654, 341 S.E.2d 5 (1986), the defendant's trial attorney filed a motion for new trial, and then a new attorney filed an amended motion for new trial, but he did not challenge the ineffectiveness of trial counsel. On appeal to this Court the defendant asserted, for...

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75 cases
  • Holt v. State, A92A0596
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • July 16, 1992
    ...S.E.2d 863. The law in these cases is that an evidentiary hearing must be held at the earliest practicable moment. Thompson v. State, 257 Ga. 386, 388(2), 359 S.E.2d 664. In Ponder v. State, 260 Ga. 840, 841-842, 400 S.E.2d 922, the Supreme Court held that "a claim of ineffective assistance......
  • McGlohon v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • October 3, 1997
    ...assistance of counsel are often properly raised for the first time in a habeas corpus petition. However, in Thompson v. State, 257 Ga. 386, 359 S.E.2d 664 (1987), we held that where new counsel appointed or retained after the trial amends the motion for new trial without raising the issue o......
  • Eagle v. Linahan
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • October 12, 2001
    ...trial so to present the ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim, appellate counsel "waived" the claim. See Thompson v. State, 257 Ga. 386, 359 S.E.2d 664, 665 (1987). In his appeal to us, however, Eagle does not take issue with the superior court's conclusion that he procedurally defa......
  • Eagle v. Linahan
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • October 12, 2001
    ...new trial so to present the ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim, appellate counsel "waived" the claim. See Thompson v. State, 359 S.E.2d 664, 665 (Ga. 1987). In his appeal to us, however, Eagle does not take issue with the superior court's conclusion that he procedurally defaulted......
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