Allen v. State
| Citation | 277 Ga. 711,593 S.E.2d 662 |
| Decision Date | 08 March 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. S04A0290.,S04A0290. |
| Parties | ALLEN v. The STATE. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Georgia |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Charles H. Frier, Atlanta, for appellant.
Paul L. Howard, Jr., Dist. Atty., Bettieanne C. Hart, Alvera A. Wheeler, Asst. Dist. Attys., Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Julie A. Adams, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Dennis Allen, Jr. was convicted of felony murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony arising out of the shooting death of taxi driver Friday Akoma. The trial court denied his motion for a new trial1 and he appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence regarding venue and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. Finding no error, we affirm.
1. The jury was authorized to find that Allen and Juanquella Stinchcomb, a 15-year-old prostitute, decided to rob someone. After failing to find an available victim, they called a taxicab to go home to Stone Mountain. Instead, Stinchcomb gave the driver, Friday Akoma, an address on Shelton Avenue. When they arrived, Allen shot Akoma in the head. He and Stinchcomb then moved Akoma into the back seat and drove the taxicab to a middle school in Fulton County where they disposed of the body. Allen and Stinchcomb abandoned the taxicab in DeKalb County and walked home. Allen's finger-prints were matched to prints made in blood that were found on the right rear window of the taxicab. Stinchcomb pled guilty to concealing the death of another and testified at trial that appellant shot Akoma and stole $18, a cell phone and a pager. Stinchcomb admitted she used the cell phone a week later and that the weapon used in the crimes was subsequently stolen while in the possession of another prostitute Stinchcomb knew. Two other witnesses, Cade and Parsons, testified that Allen admitted to them that he shot the taxi driver.
In Allen's taped statement to the police he initially asserted that Stinchcomb approached him asking him to buy something and he suggested she approach a taxi driver. He later stated that he was together with Stinchcomb and had known her for months; that he provided her a gun for protection; that she returned telling him she was "in trouble" and had done "something wrong"; she took him to the taxicab where the victim was already dead; and that Allen helped her dispose of the body.
This evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Allen guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charged crimes. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).
2. We find no error in the trial court's denial of Allen's motion for a directed verdict of acquittal because the State carried its burden of proving venue in Fulton County beyond a reasonable doubt. Stinchcomb testified that the victim was shot on Shelton Avenue; Detective Calhoun answered affirmatively when asked whether "the area where [Stinchcomb] told you the shooting took place" was in Fulton County. Because this evidence located the area of the shooting in Fulton County, this case is distinguishable from Jones v. State, 272 Ga. 900(3), 537 S.E.2d 80 (2000), relied upon by Allen, in which the sole testimony adduced did not place the crime scene itself in Fulton County but merely placed the crime scene as being across the street from a Fulton County location.2
3. To prevail on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Allen must prove that his trial counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficiency prejudiced his defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Chapman v. State, 273 Ga. 348(2), 541 S.E.2d 634 (2001). Allen contends that counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and introduce into evidence...
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