Davis v. State

• Decision Date: 23 November 2021
• Docket Number: S21A1198
• Citation: 866 S.E.2d 390,312 Ga. 870
• Parties: DAVIS v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

312 Ga. 870

866 S.E.2d 390

DAVIS

v.The STATE.

S21A1198

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Decided: November 23, 2021

Gregory Davis Smith, Conger & Smith, LLC, 218 E. Water Street, Bainbridge, Georgia 39817, for Appellant.

Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, Alex Martin Bernick, Department of Law, 40 Capitol Square, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334, M. April Wyane, Assistant District Attorney, Gregory W. Edwards, District Attorney, Dougherty County District Attorney's Office, P.O. Box 1827, Albany, Georgia 31702, for Appellee.

Peterson, Justice.

Jammie Rashad Davis appeals his convictions for murder and other crimes stemming from the 2018 shooting death of Latravius Burks.¹ Davis argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because evidence showed that he acted in self-defense and (2) the trial court plainly erred in failing to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter. Davis's sufficiency claim fails because the jury did not have to believe Davis's self-serving testimony that he was defending himself. And his claim of plain instructional error fails because the victim's touching of Davis's daughter's lips is not the kind of provocation that would have obviously required a voluntary manslaughter instruction. We affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts, the evidence presented at trial showed the following. Davis, who went by "Shad," had a daughter, A.J., with Shavonda Jones. In May 2018, Jones was living with her boyfriend, Burks, in Dougherty County. Davis and Burks did not get along. On May 18, 2018, Davis went to visit his daughter, who was about three years old at the time, on the porch of the home of Jones and Burks. Burks arrived at the home during Davis's visit with his daughter. In the presence of Davis's daughter and Jones's two other minor children, K.J. and L.J., Davis shot at Burks at least 11 times, striking Burks at least seven times.

Police responding to the scene found Burks lying on the ground outside of his home, bleeding profusely from several gunshot wounds, with the butt of a gun sticking out of his front pants pocket. A crime scene specialist determined that the gun had not been fired recently. At the scene, Burks told police that "Shad" had shot him. Burks later died of his multiple gunshot wounds, some of which were consistent with having been shot from behind.

The State presented eyewitness testimony from Jones's three young children that Davis shot Burks. One of the children, K.J., who was seven at the time of trial, testified that Burks was "playing with [the] lips" of Davis's daughter, A.J., before Davis punched, then shot, Burks. Another child, L.J., who was six at the time of trial, testified on cross-examination that he had said in a prior interview that Burks hit Davis first, and that he had merely heard, but not seen, the shooting; on redirect, however, L.J. testified that Davis "started fighting" first. Jones, who had been inside eating, testified that she heard several gunshots. The children ran into the house, and Jones heard Burks yell out. She went outside and found Burks lying on the ground, bleeding and gasping for breath. Davis's cell phone was on the porch, but Jones did not see Davis or the car in which he had arrived.

A video recording of a police interview of Davis was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. Although it is difficult to understand Davis on the recording, he generally can be heard claiming that he shot Burks in order to protect himself. But one of the officers who conducted the interview testified that Davis did not say that he was scared or in fear for his life, that he saw a gun on Burks on the day of the shooting, or that Burks had threatened to shoot him on that day. The officer testified that Davis did recount a previous incident in which Burks threatened to shoot him.

Davis testified in his own defense. He testified about two altercations with Burks prior to the shooting. Davis testified that about a year earlier, Burks bumped into Davis at a convenience store. Davis asked Burks why he bumped into him, and Burks responded that he did not care who Davis was and that Burks was not afraid to shoot or fight. Davis also testified that about a month before the shooting, Burks pulled a gun on Davis while Davis was visiting his daughter and threatened to shoot Davis in the head. A friend of Davis testified about these two encounters as well, claiming that he witnessed the first encounter and was on the telephone with Davis during the second encounter.

As to the fatal encounter, Davis testified that he shot Burks in self-defense. Davis claimed that he saw Burks retrieve a gun from his car and put it in his pocket before Burks approached the porch where Davis was visiting with his daughter. According to Davis, he objected when Burks "grabbed" Davis's daughter "on her face." Davis claimed that Burks said, "I already told you what I'd do," started "swinging on" him, and continued to attack him as Davis backed away down the steps of the porch. Davis testified that he was weakened by pneumonia

and shot Burks to defend himself. Davis admitted that he did not see Burks "pull his gun" on Davis at any time during the incident.

1. Davis was convicted of malice murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and three counts of cruelty to children in the third degree. Contending that substantial evidence supported his claims of self-defense, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. We disagree.

When evaluating the sufficiency of evidence, we must determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). In making that determination, "we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and we put aside any questions about conflicting evidence, the credibility of witnesses, or the weight of the evidence, leaving the resolution of such things to the discretion of the [jury]." Wilkerson v. State , 307 Ga. 574, 574, 837 S.E.2d 300 (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). "As long as there is some competent evidence, even if contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State's case, the jury's verdict will be upheld." Scott v. State , 309 Ga. 764, 766 (1), 848 S.E.2d 448 (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted).

Here, eyewitnesses testified that Davis shot Burks. Indeed, Davis admitted shooting Burks. Although Davis claimed that he did so in self-defense, the jury was free to reject that testimony. Davis admitted that he did not see Burks pull a gun during the incident, and evidence showed that the gun found in Burks's pocket had not been fired recently. Moreover, when interviewed by officers, Davis did not say that Burks had threatened to shoot him on the day of the shooting. After assessing the credibility of the witnesses and other evidence, the jury was authorized to reject any claims that Davis shot Burks in self-defense and find beyond a reasonable doubt that Davis was guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted. See Corley v. State , 308 Ga. 321, 322 (1) (a), 840 S.E.2d 391 (2020) ("[Q]uestions about the existence of justification are for a jury to decide ... [,] and ... [t]he jury is free to reject any evidence in support of a justification defense and to accept the evidence that the shooting was not done in self-defense.") (citation and punctuation omitted).²

2. Davis also argues that the trial court committed plain error in failing to charge on voluntary manslaughter. Again, we disagree.

Davis made a written request for a jury charge on voluntary manslaughter, arguing...