Burks v. State

• Decision Date: 29 July 1999
• Docket Number: No. A99A0856., No. A99A0818
• Citation: 239 Ga. App. 427,521 S.E.2d 416
• Parties: BURKS v. The STATE. Alls v. The State.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

521 S.E.2d 416

239 Ga. App. 427

BURKS v. The STATE.

Alls v. The State.

Nos. A99A0818, A99A0856.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

July 29, 1999.

Patricia F. Angeli, Jonesboro, for appellant (case no. A99A0818).

George C. Creal, Jr., for appellant (case no. A99A0856).

Robert E. Keller, District Attorney, Nancy T. Bircher, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

RUFFIN, Judge.

Verlon Burks and Willie Paul Alls were each convicted of robbery and aggravated assault, and Alls was also convicted of certain driving violations. After Alls filed a motion for new trial, the trial court merged his aggravated assault conviction into his robbery conviction. Both defendants appeal, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support their robbery convictions. In addition, Alls contends that he is entitled to a new trial because certain photographs were improperly admitted. Because these contentions are without merit, we affirm.

1. On appeal of a criminal conviction,

the evidence must be construed in the light most favorable to the verdict, and the appellant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility but only determines whether the evidence is sufficient under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Conflicts in the testimony of the witnesses, including the State's witnesses, are a matter of credibility for the jury to resolve. As long as there is some competent evidence, even though contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State's case, the jury's verdict will be upheld.

(Punctuation omitted.) Taylor v. State, 235 Ga.App. 323, 324(1), 509 S.E.2d 388 (1998).

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence showed as follows. On December 3, 1997, Kathleen Tilley was walking across a parking lot on her way to work when a van pulled alongside her. Tilley described the van as having a brown hood. A passenger in the van reached his arm out of the window and grabbed Tilley's purse. Tilley fell to her knees and was dragged along by the vehicle before letting go of the purse. Among the items in her purse were a wallet, umbrella, checkbook, insurance card, driver's license, social security card, and a $100 bill. Police officers arrived on the scene within a few minutes, and Tilley provided a description of the vehicle. The police put out an alert for the vehicle, and a van matching the description was seen speeding nearby a few minutes later. Officer Ronald Rhodes chased the vehicle in a marked police car, with lights and siren activated, but the van attempted to flee, running through at least three red lights. After other officers joined the chase, Officer Rhodes discontinued his pursuit.

Sergeant Kelly Clair and Deputies Robert Whitlock, R.H. Hitchcock, and Reginald McCain continued chasing the van. On several occasions, the driver of the van attempted to ram Clair's vehicle, at a speed of 80-85 mph, when Clair tried to pass. At one point, the passenger threw what appeared to be a purse out of the passenger side window. The purse hit Hitchcock's car and appeared to "explode," with items flying out. Deputy McCain stopped to retrieve these items. He discovered Tilley's driver's license, umbrella, and checkbook, as well as several receipts with Tilley's name on them. He was not able to find Tilley's purse or wallet on the busy highway. The purse was apparently found a day or two later inside a mailbox.

Clair, Whitlock, and Hitchcock continued with the chase. At some point, Clair saw the van lurch forward, with black smoke escaping from it. The van then coasted to a stop in a church parking lot. The passenger, subsequently identified as Burks, got out of the van and immediately surrendered. The driver, subsequently identified as Alls, was subdued after a short struggle with Clair. At trial, Tilley was shown photographs of Alls' van and stated that it looked like the one involved in the robbery.

The evidence was clearly sufficient to authorize the jury to...