Edmonds v. State
| Decision Date | 16 September 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. S02A0968.,S02A0968. |
| Citation | 275 Ga. 450,569 S.E.2d 530 |
| Parties | EDMONDS v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
James Clayton Parks, Jr., Atlanta, for appellant.
Paul L. Howard, Jr., Dist. Atty., Marc A. Mallon, Peggy Ann Katz, Asst. Dist. Attys., Bettieanne C. Hart, Deputy Dist. Atty., Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Ruth Mary Bebko, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
A jury found David Edmonds guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, armed robbery, and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the fatal shootings of Byron Carmichael and Chrishon Guinn. Edmonds appeals his convictions and the denial of his motion for new trial, challenging the rehabilitation of a prospective juror, the sufficiency of the evidence of venue, and the trial court's instruction to the jury. Finding the challenges without merit, we affirm.1
The evidence construed in favor of the verdicts showed that around 10:00 p.m. on May 6, 1998, longtime friends Byron Carmichael and Chrishon Guinn went to fix a flat tire on Carmichael's car. As they approached Cascade Place in Guinn's car, they noticed Harold "Speedy" Miller walking with Shanitha "Shay" Norwood, who was engaged in prostitution; Miller sometimes procured customers for Norwood. Looking for a sexual encounter, Carmichael and Guinn allowed Norwood to get in the car with them and they drove to a rooming house at 761 Cascade Place where Norwood took her customers. A man named James ran the rooming house and for five dollars James let Norwood use a room for prostitution. No one other than James was in charge of the rooming house.
On May 6, 1998, Edmonds was staying at the rooming house. Norwood had smoked drugs with Edmonds and had been intimate with him. She knew that Edmonds owed money to a drug dealer named "Fred." When Norwood arrived at the rooming house with the victims, she asked to use the room of a resident named "Red" and paid five dollars for using it. Red then went into Edmonds's room. As Norwood and the victims were discussing what sexual acts they wanted, Edmonds came to the room door and demanded more money for letting them use the room. Carmichael and Guinn refused to pay more and said that they would leave. Edmonds pulled out a pistol, put it to one of the victim's faces, and said, "I tell you what, just give me all your money." Guinn charged Edmonds and they fell into the hallway. Carmichael ran into the hall after them. Norwood heard a gunshot and ran out of the house toward the street. She then heard more gunshots. Shortly thereafter, Edmonds came up the pathway next to the street and told Norwood that he had killed both men. Norwood and Edmonds went to a house across the street and Norwood saw Edmonds looking through some wallets. As Edmonds looked in one of the wallets that contained five dollars, he stated, "Damn, I messed up."
After hearing the gunshots, Miller saw Edmonds going up the driveway to Edmonds's uncle's house which was nearby the rooming house; Edmonds looked like he had been running and "something wasn't right." Edmonds told Miller that he had just shot the two men who were with Norwood, but Edmonds claimed that he did so to protect himself.
Other residents of the rooming house observed that Edmonds carried a .38 revolver, and that he had discussed owing money to the drug dealer, "Fred."
At approximately 11:50 p.m., Officer Britton of the City of Atlanta Police Department responded to a call reporting two dead bodies at 761 Cascade Place. The officer discovered Carmichael's body at the foot of steps leading to a deck in the back yard of the house; Carmichael had no vital signs and there was blood on the deck steps, near the back door, and in the kitchen. Carmichael had bled to death from a fatal gunshot wound to the chest; he had also sustained a bruise to the left side of the head. The path of the bullet was consistent with Carmichael being "stooped" down when he was shot.
The police found Guinn's body sitting upright on the floor in one of the back rooms; furniture in the room had been knocked over. Guinn had sustained a gunshot wound to the pelvis causing him to bleed to death and another gunshot wound to the back of the left thigh. Based on the physical evidence, the police determined that Guinn was shot as he struggled with his assailant in the hallway and that he received the other wound while he was in the bedroom; Carmichael was shot in the chest while he was in the kitchen. The.38 caliber bullets recovered from both victims were fired from the same handgun, which was determined to be either a Taurus or a Rossi .38 special revolver, or a .357 magnum. No weapons were found on the victims or in the house. Each victim's wallet was missing.
In their investigation of possible suspects, the police obtained Norwood's name and spoke with her; Norwood told them that Edmonds was involved. The police then received information about a wallet belonging to one of the victims. Edmonds was arrested. In route to the police station, Edmonds volunteered that "he beat him" or "they beat me for two days, that the reason he couldn't get away is because they tied him up"; Edmonds further indicated that "some kind of struggle ensued over a gun and accidentally discharged" and said "that the reason he didn't let go of the gun is because he was in fear for his life."
However, Edmonds testified at trial that Norwood came by the rooming house and asked him for a room; Edmonds went back to sleep and was then awakened by arguing from the adjacent room; Edmonds went to the room and asked them to keep it quiet or leave the rooming house; after receiving a hostile look from Guinn, Edmonds grabbed at some money; Carmichael came out from behind the door and hit Edmonds in the face; both Carmichael and Guinn fought with and injured Edmonds; after being thrown against a door in the struggle, Edmonds pulled a pistol out of his pocket; "the pistol goes off on the floor"; Guinn attempted to take Edmonds's pistol as they continued to fight; while Guinn was straddling and hitting Edmonds, Edmonds fired the pistol; after Guinn rolled off, Carmichael began to attack him; Edmonds tried to run away but Carmichael was screaming and charging at him, so Edmonds turned and shot him; Edmonds took off running. Edmonds denied owing money to the drug dealer, and that he had taken anything from the victims.
1. The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find Edmonds guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).
2. Edmonds contends that the trial court impermissibly rehabilitated a potential juror during voir dire because the man indicated that he could not be unbiased towards Edmonds.2 But there is no evidence that Edmonds ever challenged the prospective juror for cause or in any manner indicated to the trial court the belief that the man was subject to being stricken for cause.3 The disqualification of a prospective juror can be waived, either expressly or impliedly. Kirkland v. State, 274 Ga. 778, 780(n.2), 560 S.E.2d 6 (2002); Miller v. State, 233 Ga.App. 814, 815(1), 506 S.E.2d 136 (1998).
Speed v. State, 270 Ga. 688, 691(7), 512 S.E.2d 896 (1999), quoting Whitlock v. State, 230 Ga. 700, 706(5), 198 S.E.2d 865 (1973). Even assuming that waiver is not present in this...
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