Alford v. State
| Decision Date | 03 February 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. A96A1912,A96A1912 |
| Citation | 224 Ga.App. 451,480 S.E.2d 893 |
| Parties | , 97 FCDR 476 ALFORD v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Wesley T. Leonard, La Grange, for appellant.
Peter J. Skandalakis, District Attorney, Monique L. Fouque, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
Curtis Alford appeals from the judgment entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of nine counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
1. Alford claims he was entitled to a new trial because the jury's guilty verdict was against the weight of the evidence and was contrary to principles of justice and equity. On appeal, we do not re-weigh the evidence by resolving conflicts in the evidence or by determining the credibility of witnesses. Rather, we accept the jury's factual determinations by viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict and determine if the evidence, so viewed, was sufficient to support the verdict. Thus viewed, the following evidence was produced in support of the convictions:
Under Count 1 of the indictment, the State alleged that Alford and co-indictee, Arthur Hall, burglarized Covington Credit, a business located in LaGrange, on or about February 25, 1994. An employee of the business testified that, when she arrived to open the business on the morning of that date, she discovered the back door had been kicked in and a telephone, a radio, and a coffeemaker were missing from the business. The State produced testimony and a statement from Hall, who entered a guilty plea to this count prior to trial, that on the date of the charged burglary he and Alford broke into the business, stole a telephone and a radio, and then left the stolen items in a lot near the business. Alford's brother testified that Alford told him he broke into Covington Credit. A radio found by police in a lot a couple of blocks from the business shortly after the burglary was identified by the employee as the radio taken in the burglary.
Under Count 2, the State alleged that Alford and Hall burglarized the Pig & Chic restaurant in LaGrange on or about March 12, 1994. An employee of the business testified that, when he arrived to open the business on that date, someone had broken in the front door, ransacked the business, and stolen the cash register. Alford's girl friend testified that she was with Alford and Hall on the date of the burglary; that she saw Hall break down the door of the business, and that Hall and Alford went inside the business saying they were going to get some money.
Under Count 3, the State alleged that Alford and Hall attempted to burglarize Yates Grocery store in LaGrange on or about March 12, 1994. A part owner of the store testified that she received a call on that date in the middle of the night after the store's alarm system went off. Upon arrival at the store, she discovered that someone had broken down the back door of the store. Alford's girl friend testified that she was with Alford and Hall on the date of the burglary, and that she saw Hall kick open the door to the store while Alford stood back and waited. She testified that, when the alarm went off, everybody ran, and she saw Hall and Alford laughing about what happened. The State also produced testimony from a police detective who testified that the girl friend gave him a statement in which she said that she saw both Alford and Hall kick open the door to the store. Alford's brother also testified that he saw Alford and Hall kick the door to the store. Hall testified and admitted he gave a statement to a detective stating that Alford was with him at the Yates store and helped him kick the door, but he claimed the statement was false and that Alford was not involved. A recorded statement given by Hall to the detective was admitted in which Hall stated that he and Alford broke open the door to the Yates store.
Under Count 4, the State alleged that Alford and Hall burglarized the LaGrange Headstart building on or about March 8, 1994. A Headstart employee testified that on that date she discovered that someone had broken into the building, ransacked it, and taken some items of food. Alford's brother testified that on the date of the charged burglary he was with Alford, Hall, and others at the Headstart building. He testified that he heard some of the group trying to break a window in the back of the building and calling for Alford; that he saw Alford go back with the group, and that Alford told him he threw a brick through the window. He testified that he saw Alford with some apples and oranges he got from the building. Hall, who pled guilty to this count prior to trial, testified and admitted he told a detective that Alford helped him break into the Headstart building on March 9, but he claimed the statement was false and that Alford was not involved.
After the jury was unable to reach a verdict on Count 5, the trial court declared a mistrial on the burglary charge alleged in Count 5 of the indictment.
Under Count 6, the State alleged that Alford burglarized The Added Touch, a business located in LaGrange, on or about February 7, 1994. One of the owners of the business testified that on that date she was called at home in the middle of the night by police, and, upon arrival at the business, she discovered that the back door of the business had been broken down and several book bags were missing from the business. The State produced testimony from a juvenile who said that on the date of the charged burglary Alford told him to break into The Added Touch; that he and Alford broke down the door to the business, and that he went inside and got some book bags and gave them to Alford, who was waiting on the back porch near the door. Alford's brother testified that Alford gave him some book bags that Alford said he got from the juvenile. After police recovered the book bags from Alford's brother, the bags were identified by the owner of the business as the items taken in the burglary.
Under Count 7, the State alleged that Alford burglarized the Newman Construction Company, a business located in LaGrange, on or about January 6, 1994. An employee of the business testified that, when he came into work on the morning of that date, he discovered that someone had broken into the business by breaking through a back window in a storage area and then kicking open a door into an office area. He discovered that a radio was missing from the business. The employee identified a radio that police recovered from Alford's residence as the radio taken in the burglary. Another employee of the business also identified the radio as the one taken in the burglary and testified that it had been there for five or six years. When the radio was recovered by police, it was covered with graffiti, including Alford's street name, "Hammer," which was not on the radio before it was taken in the burglary. Alford's brother testified that he saw Alford bring the radio to their residence and that, when he did so, it did not have any graffiti on it. Alford's girl friend testified that Alford left the radio over at her residence for a while, and that she saw him put the graffiti on it. When asked if Alford told him that the radio came from Newman Construction Company, Alford's brother replied that he "[p]robably did but not as I can recall." Alford and his mother testified that he bought the radio at a yard sale in December 1993.
Under Count 8, the State alleged that Alford committed a second burglary against the LaGrange Headstart on or about January 21 1994. A Headstart employee testified that, when she arrived at the building on that date, she discovered that someone had broken into the building by throwing a brick through the window, and that some items including a cordless telephone were missing. The telephone was recovered by police after the burglary, and the employee identified it as the telephone taken in the burglary. Alford's girl friend testified that the phone identified by the employee was given to her by Alford and that she subsequently gave it to a friend. A police detective testified that they recovered the telephone from the friend.
Under Count 9, the State alleged that Alford burglarized Medicare Rental Supply, Inc., a business located in LaGrange, on or about March 8, 1994. An employee of the business testified that, when he arrived for work on the morning of that date, he discovered that someone had broken into the business and that a cash box was missing. The employee identified a cash box that police recovered from Alford's girl friend as the cash box taken in the burglary. Alford's girl friend testified that, around the date of the burglary, Alford told her to go to a location in LaGrange and pick up and hold the cash box, which she found hidden in some bushes. A police detective testified that the girl friend told him she found the cash box at Alford's request, and that she also told him Alford had entered the Medicare Rental Supply business. Alford's brother testified that Alford told him he broke into the Medicare Rental Supply business.
Under Count 10, the State alleged that Alford burglarized Alfa Insurance Company, a business located in LaGrange, on or about March 7, 1994. An employee of the business testified that, when he arrived at the business on the morning of that date, he discovered that the back door had been kicked in, and about $65 in cash was missing. He did not find anything else missing at that time. Alford's girl friend testified that Alford told her he went into the Alfa Insurance Company business and "got some money out of it." A police detective testified that he interviewed Alford's girl friend after the burglary, and she told him that Alford had entered the Alfa Insurance Company business and had taken some checks. Following this interview, the detective contacted Alfa Insurance a couple of days after the burglary and asked an employee to see if any checks were missing. The...
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