Allen v. State, A04A0257.

• Decision Date: 15 July 2004
• Docket Number: No. A04A0257.,A04A0257.
• Citation: 602 S.E.2d 250,268 Ga. App. 519
• Parties: ALLEN v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

602 S.E.2d 250

268 Ga. App. 519

ALLEN v. The STATE.

No. A04A0257.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

July 15, 2004.

Certiorari Denied October 12, 2004.

Steven Sparger, Jackson and Schiavone, Savannah, for Appellant.

Spencer Lawton, District Attorney, Christine Barker, Assistant District Attorney, for Appellee.

ADAMS, Judge.

Joseph E. Allen appeals following his conviction on numerous counts of armed robbery, robbery by intimidation, kidnapping, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. We affirm.

This case arises out of a series of robberies in the Savannah area from August 1999 through February 2000. In the first of these incidents, Kathleen Williamson was working at a dry cleaning business about 2:00 p.m. on August 31, 1999, when a man came in to ask about the price for cleaning church robes. The man left, but returned a short time later and robbed her with a small, black handgun. The man took all of the money out of the cash drawer, except the $1 bills. On September 27, 1999, at around 3:00 p.m., Williamson was robbed again at the same location by the same person that robbed her several weeks earlier. He told her, "You know who I am and you know what I want," but did not display a weapon. Williamson pulled the money out of the cash drawer and gave it to the man.

At around 5:00 p.m. on November 2, 1999, Louise Thompson was working the front desk at a motel when a man came in and inquired about room rates. He walked away, ostensibly to ask his girlfriend a question, but turned around with a "chrome-looking small pistol" in his hand. The man demanded money and left after cleaning the bills out of the motel cash drawer. He threatened to kill Thompson if she called the police. Four days later, Sherolyn Ortt was working at the front desk of a motel at around 6:00 p.m. when a man came in to use the bathroom. When he came out of the restroom, he left the lobby, but then returned and asked if he could speak with someone about group reservations. When Ortt replied that she was the only one there, the man drew out a handgun and laid it on the counter. Ortt described the handgun as small, with a silver part in the front. He demanded money, directing Ortt to pull out the cash drawer. The man took the bills and left.

At around 5:30 p.m. on November 21, 1999, Edna Mae Beaufort was working as a desk clerk at a motel when she stepped into the back for a moment. When she came back out, a man was standing at the motel counter and asked about the weekly rate for a room. Beaufort told the man that her supervisor handled weekly rentals, and then stepped into the back room again to check the schedule to see when her supervisor would be there. When she returned, she saw a "little silver gun" on the counter, and the man demanded money. Beaufort pulled the bills out of the cash drawer and handed them to him. The man put the money in his pocket and began to walk away. He then turned and asked about the surveillance tape. The man went into the back, returned with a videotape in his hand, and left.

On December 21, 1999, Simone Simmons was working the night window of a motel. At some point after 11:00 p.m., she had just prepared the cash in her drawer to drop it in the safe. Before she could drop the money, a man appeared and slid a chrome gun under the window. He demanded money. Simmons gave him the money and he left. Two days later, Marquita Nelson was working as the front desk clerk at different motel during the night shift when a man came to the window between 8:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and asked about room rates. He indicated that he wanted to get a room, and Nelson lifted the window to give him the necessary paperwork. When she did so, the man pulled out a silver pistol. The man directed Nelson to give him all the money in the cash drawer, which she did. He told her to go into the bathroom and count for 20 seconds. He said that if she came out earlier he would shoot her. The man then took off running.

On January 11, 2000, Tamea Ellis had locked the doors at the dry cleaners where she worked and began tagging clothes. Sometime between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., a man approached the door and began looking through his wallet. Thinking he was there to pick up clothes, Ellis opened the door. The man demanded all the money in the register, and showed Ellis that he had a silver-handled gun tucked in his pants. She gave him the money and he walked out.

At around 6:30 on the evening of January 13, 2000, Michael Lovett and Jeffrenia Tatum were working at a music store when a man came in and began to look around. Lovett asked him if needed any help and the man said, "no." He then came up to the counter and pulled out a silver handgun. The man told Lovett to step back and directed Tatum to hand him the money out of the cash drawer. The man then told Tatum and Lovett to go to the back room of the store and not look back.

On January 21, 2000, LaDawn Robinson was working at a dry cleaners when a man came in at around 6:30 p.m. He asked her to look up a customer's name on the store computer, but she was unable to find the name. Then the man asked her to hand him her money and unzipped his jacket to reveal a gun. She gave him all the bills in her cash drawer, except the $1 bills because he did not want those. He also asked her for the security videotape. He then walked with her to the back of the store to retrieve the tape. Two days later, Felisha Harris was working as the front desk clerk supervisor at a motel. During the afternoon, she was counting her receipts when a man walked in. He told her to give him the money she was counting. Then he showed her a gun. She gave him the money and the man left. Harris picked up the phone to call police, but the man returned. He told her to put the telephone down and go to the back room. She did so, but later called police.

Three days later, Stacy Weis was working the 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift at a convenience store. Sometime between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., a man walked in as Weis was filling the coffee machine. They talked briefly about the weather. Then Weis went behind the counter and asked if she could help him. The man showed her a silver automatic handgun and asked for the money in her register. She handed him the bills and asked if he wanted the change. He said no and then asked for the $50 and $100 bills the store kept under the counter. Weis looked, but there were none. The man then told Weis he wanted the videotape. She walked into the office to get the tape and the man followed. The man grabbed the tape and told Weis to stay there and not to call anyone. About one-half hour after the suspect left, Weis discovered that her brown bomber jacket, which had a distinctive cut on the sleeve, was missing.

Six days later, on January 29, 2000, LaTonya Butler was working as a desk clerk at a motel. Sometime after 2:00 p.m., she was working at her computer when a man came in and asked to use the restroom. She told him that the motel did not have a public restroom and suggested that he go to the grocery store across the street. The man left, saying he would be back to get a room. But he immediately returned and pointed a short, silver handgun at Butler and demanded money. She gave him the money in the drawer, and he asked for her purse. She told him that she did not have "anything." The man then took Butler to the back office, with the gun pointed at her and closed the door. He told her not to come out. Butler subsequently came out of the back room to call police. She also called the motel's maintenance man, Rodney Velasquez, to let him know what had happened. Velasquez was in the parking lot heading toward the front of the motel when he saw a small truck or SUV with a drive-out tag pulling away. The vehicle was two-toned and the tag had the name "Suzuki" as well as the names of other import cars on it.

On the night of February 1, 2000, Amanda Vaughn was working as a desk clerk at a motel when the door opened and a man walked in saying, "Shh, give me your money." She looked up and saw a man holding a silver handgun. She gave him the money out of the cash drawer, and he asked for her wallet, which she gave him. He told her to turn around and to go in the back.

The next day, Danielle Gibson was working at a bakery outlet when a man came in, walked around the store a bit and left. The man came back a short time later and stayed in the store, asking a number of questions, until the other customers left. When he came to the counter to make a purchase, the man asked Gibson the price of the sodas. Then the man pointed a small black gun in her face and told her to give him the money. She gave him the money, and he left.

Each of the victims, other than Tatum, identified Allen as the man who robbed him or her from a photographic lineup and at trial. And although Tatum did not identify Allen from a photographic lineup, her co-victim, Lovett, did. And Tatum identified Allen at trial as the man who robbed her. Nelson also identified Allen from a live lineup.

At the time of his arrest, Allen was charged only with the armed robbery of Butler and a separate armed robbery of Harris. Over the next few weeks, Allen was charged with 12 additional armed robberies, as well as a single count of robbery by intimidation. Later, Allen was indicted for armed robbery, kidnapping, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the incident involving Butler.

The state filed a notice in that case indicating its intent to introduce evidence of the other robberies as similar transactions. The trial court ruled that each of the other 14 incidents could be introduced at trial as similar transactions. Subsequently, the state returned indictments against Allen in the other fourteen cases, totaling thirteen counts of armed robbery, five...