Bridges v. State, 36397
| Decision Date | 10 September 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 36397,36397 |
| Citation | 246 Ga. 323,271 S.E.2d 471 |
| Parties | BRIDGES v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Daniel Kane, Atlanta, for appellant.
Lewis R. Slaton, Dist. Atty., Benjamin H. Oehlert, III, Asst. Dist. Atty., Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Mary Beth Westmoreland, Staff Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
The defendant appeals from his conviction of a felony murder during an armed robbery, and his life sentence.
1. There was evidence adduced to the following effect. On April 5, 1979, the appellant, Freddy Wren, the victim (Hipp), and the appellant's nephew (who was staying with his uncle in his rooming house) were in the appellant's room. The victim went out and returned with a bottle of liquor after the others had gone out and returned from an errand. The victim left the room again, then the appellant and Wren came in and out of the room several times. People were heard running up the steps and then the appellant and Wren came back into the room with some money, which they split between themselves. The two then took the appellant's hammer out of the room, then a voice sounding like the victim's yelled, "Don't hit me." The sounds of running up the steps and scuffling on the roof were heard, then the victim fell off the roof onto the ground. When the nephew asked appellant what had happened, he was told to shut up.
Approximately four days later, the appellant threatened to rape a woman in Carrollton, saying that he would kill her like he had the man in Atlanta on a Thursday, who had been buried on Saturday-which incident led to the appellant's arrest. The appellant's glasses were found on the roof from which the victim fell, and blood of the same type as the victim's was found on the appellant's hammer, knife and shoes. The death was caused by blows which could have been produced by the appellant's hammer and knife. The appellant told his parole officer, after receiving Miranda warnings, that he had agreed to Wren's suggestion to rob the victim, and that he and Wren had beat the victim while they were on the roof. Wren testified that the appellant knocked down the victim's door; that they both "shook him up"; that the appellant took the victim's money and gave it to Wren; and that he had seen the appellant hit the victim with the hammer. The appellant, though testifying that Wren had committed the robbery, did admit that he himself had kicked the victim in the ribs while he was lying on the ground.
The above evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty as charged beyond a reasonable doubt.
2. The trial court did not err in denying the appellant's motion for mistrial upon the introduction of testimony of the appellant's nephew that a woman came out of her trailer in Carrollton "hollering rape" about 15 minutes after the appellant entered the trailer and of...
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Graham v. State
...L.Ed.2d 39 (1979). The charges complained of are nearly identical to those scrutinized and found to be sufficient in Bridges v. State, 246 Ga. 323(3), 271 S.E.2d 471 (1980), and Skrine v. State, 244 Ga. 520, 260 S.E.2d 900 (1979). Thus, the trial court did not err in giving those charges to......
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...154, 263 S.E.2d 666; Blair v. State, 245 Ga. 611, 616, 266 S.E.2d 214; Adams v. State, 246 Ga. 119, 122, 269 S.E.2d 11; Bridges v. State, 246 Ga. 323, 324, 271 S.E.2d 471. See also Moses v. State, 245 Ga. 180, 182, 263 S.E.2d 916; Phelps v. State, 245 Ga. 338, 339, 265 S.E.2d 53; Robinson v......
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Hazard v. State, C.A. No.: KM 03-799 (R.I. Super 1/11/2010)
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