Dixon v. State

• Decision Date: 01 June 2020
• Docket Number: S20A0857
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court
• Parties: DIXON v. The STATE.

309 Ga. 28

843 S.E.2d 806

DIXON

v.The STATE.

S20A0857

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Decided: June 1, 2020

Christina Michelle Kempter, Kempter Law Group, LLC, 3330 Cumberland Blvd, Suite 500, Atlanta, Georgia 30339, Attorneys for the Appellant.

Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, 40 Capitol Square, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334-1300, Tasha Monique Mosley, District Attorney, Jeffrey Michael Hawkins, Deputy Chief A.D.A., Clayton County District Attorney's Office, 9151 Tara Boulevard, 4th Floor, Jonesboro, Georgia 30236, Attorneys for the Appellee.

Ellington, Justice.

Stanley Dixon shot a handgun at Cedric Clark and Warren Boyd, killing Clark. A jury found Dixon guilty of malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a handgun by an underaged person, and multiple counts of participating in criminal gang activity.¹ On appeal, Dixon contends that the evidence was insufficient as to all counts of participating in criminal gang activity and that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial. In addition, he contends that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the offense of participating in criminal gang activity and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons explained below, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts, the evidence showed the following. Boyd testified as follows. On November 1, 2016, he was one of approximately ten boys who were playing basketball in the gym at Charles Drew High School in Clayton County. Boyd, who associated with members of the Gangster Disciples gang, and Dixon, who was part of a "little crew" called "Slime," began "play fighting." Dixon took offense when Boyd touched and commented derisively on the "YSL" logo necklace that Dixon was wearing, which Boyd described as a "Slime chain." Dixon told Boyd not to touch his chain, and Boyd replied, "f*ck your chain." Dixon told Boyd to "stop playing with [him] about [his] chain and Slime," and then choked Boyd. Boyd then forcefully slapped Dixon's face as other students looked on. Another student broke up the fight. After school was dismissed, Dixon sent word to Boyd that he wanted to fight after school to "squash the beef," and Boyd agreed.

On his way to Dixon's neighborhood that evening, Boyd saw his close friend, Clark, and told him he was going to fight. Clark volunteered to go with Boyd to protect his friend from being "jumped," because that was "how [Dixon's] group [got] down." After Boyd and Clark reached Dixon's neighborhood, Boyd texted Dixon that he had arrived. When Boyd and Clark were a few houses away from Dixon's house, Dixon stepped out into the street toward them, holding a handgun. He cocked the gun and fired two shots in their direction. Boyd and Clark scattered as Dixon chased them. Boyd made it back to Clark's home unharmed; Clark died in a neighboring yard of a gunshot wound

that pierced his thoracic aorta.

The State presented the testimony of lay and expert witnesses showing that the shooting was gang-related. Dixon's cousin and roommate, Demarco Reid, testified that it was his gun that Dixon used to shoot at Boyd and Clark.² Reid testified that he was in a group called "Slime," although he denied knowing whether Dixon was a member of Slime. Reid also admitted that Slime was "bigger" than just students at Drew High School. Another Drew High School student testified that he was in Slime, along with Dixon and Reid, although he described Slime as "just a clique" of "less than ten ... guys [who] would hang out together." That student testified that Slime members participated in group text messaging chats.

Markee Brown testified that he met Dixon in jail while both were awaiting trial. Dixon told Brown that he was innocent and that his cousin, Reid, was "telling on him." Dixon asked Brown to "get" Reid and to have Reid sign an affidavit that would free Dixon. Thereafter, Brown was transferred to another housing unit of the jail, where Reid was also housed. The following week, Brown beat up Reid. Later, Brown arranged for letters to be passed to Dixon. In one letter, Brown explained to Dixon what he had done, saying that he "ate that rat b**ch"; Brown testified that this meant that, "on [Dixon's] behalf," he beat up Reid.³ In another letter, Brown told Dixon, "I'll do anything to prove my loyalty." Brown admitted associating with members of the Bloods, including while in jail, although he denied being a gang member. Before Dixon's trial, Brown pleaded guilty to threatening a witness in connection with beating Reid and to participating in criminal gang activity predicated on that offense.

At trial, a Clayton County police department lieutenant was qualified as an expert in gang investigations. The expert, who had interviewed numerous gang members, particularly members of the Bloods and the Gangster Disciples, testified as follows. At the relevant time, there was a large gang presence at Drew High School. The East Coast Bloods criminal street gang had a large presence in Clayton County. Members of the Bloods used certain hand signs and took distinctive stances in photographs. The Bloods commonly wore the color red, and to a lesser extent yellow and green, to signal their affiliation, sometimes wearing bandanas, called "flags," of those colors. Some Bloods subgroups or "sets" used the term "Slime" to identify themselves because they consider blood to be slimy, and the expert had never seen any gang other than the Bloods use the term. The acronym "YSL" stands for "Young Slime Life." Slime members often used the color green, instead of red, and used a gang sign where the member places his index finger underneath his nose as if wiping the nose. Members of Slime often employed a snake graphic symbol when texting and using social media.

The expert reviewed numerous photographs and screen shots taken from Reid's cell phone that depicted Dixon and others. The expert pointed out details in the photos that signified that Dixon was affiliated with the Bloods: Dixon wearing a green bandana; wearing "YSL" clothing items; making Slime hand signs, including in group photographs with other individuals who were flashing common Bloods hand signs; and using the snake symbol in messages.

The expert also testified that one of the common ways to become a Bloods member was by a "beat-in" where the joining member has to fight three other Bloods for 31 seconds. Bloods called this type of gang initiation a "trey one." The expert testified that these "beat-ins" have taken place in schools, often in bathrooms. The expert reviewed videos recovered from Reid's cell phone. Some of the videos depicted three or four young males, including Dixon and Reid, fighting a single male inside a public bathroom while others watched. Someone off camera can be heard directing the fighters when to begin and when to stop fighting. Fights were stopped when the single fighter fell to the ground or moved out of reach of the group. Some of the fights were deemed not to count because they are "not 31" or "only 12 seconds." In one video, someone asked if that was "trey one" after the group stopped beating the single fighter. At the end, Reid began a handshake with the single fighter. The expert testified that the videos were consistent with "beat-in" initiations.

The expert reviewed a series of group text messages recovered from Reid's cell phone. On October 12, 2016, Dixon messaged the group that certain people were not Slime because they had not paid their dues yet. When questioned about this text message, the expert testified that most gangs require members to pay monetary dues. Also on October 12, 2016, Dixon messaged, "All Slimes meet me on the culinary arts hall right now" and "[we've] got to walk deep because [they're] going to try something." Several others responded on the group chat as they planned to congregate. The expert testified that Dixon's messages were consistent with a gang member soliciting fellow gang members to assemble in a large group to intimidate their rivals. On October 13, 2016, Dixon messaged to the group that they were about to "eat" someone who "said f slime." The expert testified that Bloods call fighting "eating" and that Dixon's message was consistent with a gang associate's response to his gang being disrespected.

The expert further testified to the following. In addition to the presence of the Bloods in Clayton County, there was a large presence of a rival gang, the Gangster Disciples. Many gang-related shootings have been in retaliation for rival gang members having disrespected the aggressors’ gang. A Gangster Disciple member slapping a Bloods member in front of a crowded gym or a Gangster Disciple breaking a Blood's YSL necklace would be interpreted as a sign of disrespect. Gang associates often would threaten others with violence to keep them from testifying, and beating up a "snitch" for another gang associate could show loyalty to the gang. Finally, the expert testified that loyalty between gang members was "paramount" and their "number one responsibility."

1. (a) Dixon does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence presented at his trial as to malice murder (Count 1), aggravated assault (Count 5), and possession of a handgun by an underaged person (Count 18). Nevertheless, as is our customary practice in murder cases, we have independently reviewed the record and conclude that the evidence was legally sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Dixon was guilty of these crimes. See Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307, 319 (III) (B), 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

(b) Dixon contends that the evidence was insufficient to find him guilty of participating in criminal gang activity. In Counts 6, 14, and 16, the indictment charged Dixon with...