Ferguson v. State, S15A0309.
| Decision Date | 15 June 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. S15A0309.,S15A0309. |
| Citation | 773 S.E.2d 749,297 Ga. 342 |
| Parties | FERGUSON v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Tobe Christopher Karrh, Swainsboro, Johnny Emmett Clyde Vines, Lyons, for appellant.
Ashley Wright, Dist. Atty., Madonna Marie Little, Joshua Bradley Smith, Samuel S. Olens, Atty. Gen., Paula Khristian Smith, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Atty. Gen., Katherine Lee Iannuzzi, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Appellee.
Appellant Joshua Bernard Ferguson was convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the stabbing deaths of two victims in May 2009. Ferguson appeals, asserting insufficiency of the evidence, erroneous exclusion of evidence, and ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error, we affirm.1
Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdicts, the evidence adduced at trial established as follows. In the early morning hours of May 20, 2009, a Richmond County Sheriff's deputy stopped to assist three individuals who had been summoned to help an injured friend. The deputy followed them to a nearby apartment, its door ajar, and discovered the two deceased victims, Rodney Crane and Jesse Haynes, both of whom had been stabbed and cut multiple times. Another officer followed a trail of blood from the victims to an upstairs apartment, whose occupant refused him entry. A SWAT team kicked in the door, and officers entered, observing more blood inside. The officers determined that the occupant was locked in the bathroom and eventually persuaded him to unlock the door. In the bathroom was Ferguson, bleeding from a cut on his hand.
During their search of the crime scene, investigators collected multiple blood swabs and shoe impressions. In the apartment in which Ferguson was found, investigators seized numerous articles of clothing with blood stains and shoes with treads that were later determined to match the impressions from the crime scene. In addition, in a trash can in Ferguson's apartment, investigators found a knife stained with blood that was later matched to that of both Crane and Ferguson. The medical examiner concluded that both deaths were homicides caused by sharp force injuries, also noting that Crane had sustained “no less than 40” such injuries.
Ferguson testified at trial, admitting to stabbing both victims but claiming he did so in self-defense. Specifically, Ferguson testified that Haynes had invited him into the apartment, where Crane was reclining on the sofa; that Haynes asked Ferguson several times to loan him some money, and Ferguson refused; and that Haynes then left the apartment and Ferguson dozed off, only to be awakened by a knife-wielding Haynes. Ferguson further testified that he fought off the attack, in which he sustained the cut to his hand, wrestled the knife from Haynes, and then stabbed Haynes in self-defense. According to Ferguson, Crane then arose and hit Ferguson from behind with a lamp, provoking Ferguson to stab Crane and then flee.
The State adduced evidence that Ferguson had previously pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal stabbing in 1984. During his cross examination, Ferguson also admitted that he had previously been convicted on two counts of burglary.
1. The evidence as summarized above was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ferguson was guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Though Ferguson contends that his unrebutted testimony regarding his altercation with the victims establishes his claim of self-defense, the jury, as the sole arbiter of witness credibility, was authorized to disbelieve this testimony. See Sapp v. State, 273 Ga. 472, 543 S.E.2d 27 (2001) (); see also Butler v. State, 235 Ga. 95(1), 218 S.E.2d 835 (1975) (). This conclusion holds especially true where there is evidence that appears at odds with Ferguson's account, as, for example, the sheer number of stab wounds sustained by Crane, which is indicative of an aggressive attack rather than defensive maneuverings.
2. We find no error in the...
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