Harris v. State

• Decision Date: 03 May 2022
• Docket Number: S22A0251
• Citation: 313 Ga. 653,872 S.E.2d 732
• Parties: HARRIS v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

313 Ga. 653

872 S.E.2d 732

HARRIS

v.The STATE.

S22A0251

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Decided: May 3, 2022

Randall Paul Sharp, Sharp Georgia Law Firm, 4480 South Cobb Drive, Suite H, #164, Smyrna, Georgia 30080, 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, Melinda April Wynne, A.D.A., Gregory W. Edwards, District Attorney, Dougherty County District Attorney's Office, P.O. Box 1827, Albany, Georgia 31702, for Appellee.

Peterson, Justice.

Jordan Robert Harris appeals his convictions for felony murder and other charges stemming from the July 2010 shooting of Walter Phelps during the robbery of Phelps's store; Phelps died from blood clots

over a month after the shooting.¹ Harris argues that the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred by admitting other-acts evidence, unreliable identifications of him, evidence marred by violations of Brady² and Georgia's criminal discovery statute, and inadmissible hearsay. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the identification or other-acts evidence. We conclude that any error in the admission of the alleged hearsay was harmless. And we conclude that Harris has not shown a Brady violation and waived any claim of error under the discovery statute. We therefore affirm.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Phelps owned the P&P Garden Center in Dougherty County. On July 3, 2010, Phelps arrived at the store around 7:00 a.m. to prepare for its opening. Shortly after Phelps arrived, a man came into the store, wearing a hoodie and keeping his hand in his pockets. The man asked for work, then left. At around 7:35 a.m., Phelps's friend Mercer Garrett came by, and Phelps, who seemed rattled, reported that he had just been visited by a man who had asked for work and seemed suspicious. Garrett left after a few minutes. The suspicious man returned, shot Phelps, then asked where the store's money was kept.

An employee of the store, Teresa Fletcher, arrived at about 7:45 a.m. and found Phelps lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. A man pointed a gun at Fletcher and then at other employees who subsequently arrived — Carl Terrell and Ryan Richardson³ — as the man attempted to find the store's cash. The man, whom Fletcher later identified as Harris, demanded that the employees empty their pockets. Interrupted by additional store employees, Harris grabbed the cash register, placed it in a bag, and left with the bag and Phelps's keys and wallet.

When EMTs arrived, they found Phelps in poor condition, bleeding profusely. Phelps was only semi-conscious when transported to a hospital. He gave a statement to an investigator at the hospital on the day of the shooting, as well as on July 13; both statements were recorded and played for the jury. In the second statement, Phelps described the suspicious man who had entered the store, left, then returned and shot him. Phelps described the shooter as a light-skinned black male in his late teens or early twenties, around six feet tall, and weighing 160 to 180 pounds. Phelps was shown photo lineups that did not include Harris; Phelps did not identify anyone as the shooter, although he said one person looked familiar.

The doctor who treated Phelps in the emergency room described his gunshot wounds as life-threatening. She said that Phelps appeared to be otherwise healthy and showed no signs of blood clots

. After surgery, Phelps was assigned an ICU bed; the doctor who cared for him there noted no history of blood clots. Phelps was released from the hospital on July 24, 2010. Although he was ambulatory while at home, he remained on oxygen and had physical limitations. Phelps returned to the hospital on August 7, 2010, and died that same day.

The medical examiner who performed Phelps's autopsy testified that Phelps's death was caused by blood clots

that resulted from the gunshot wound to Phelps's torso. She testified that two of the three primary risk factors for blood clots

— immobility and physical trauma — were present as a result of the Phelps's gunshot wound. She ruled out other possible causes of clots, including Phelps's genetics, age, weight, smoking history, heart issues, and other health history.

In addition to Fletcher's out-of-court and in-court identification of Harris, he also was implicated in the shooting by co-defendant Jamon Carter, who pleaded guilty to related charges prior to the trial of Harris and co-defendant Ezekiel James.⁴ Carter testified at Harris's trial that in late June 2010, Harris discussed plans to "do a lick" at the P&P store to get some money to purchase clothing at a Polo outlet store, with James serving as the driver. Carter testified that he, Harris, James, and another man went to the Polo store on July 3, the day of the shooting, and Harris paid for items selected by each of the men with a credit card. Carter identified Harris in a surveillance video recording from the Polo store. Carter also testified to conversations with James after the surveillance video was aired on the news in which James said, "we was on the news," and wondered aloud "why [Harris] shot the man."

As detailed further in Division 3, the State also introduced evidence of three prior armed robberies of convenience stores committed by Harris.

1. Harris argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for three reasons. We disagree.

When evaluating the sufficiency of evidence as a matter of constitutional due process, 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).

(a) First, Harris argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions generally because the State failed to prove that he was the person who shot Phelps. In support of this argument, he argues that Fletcher's pretrial and in-person identifications of him never should have been admitted because, as discussed in more detail in Division 2, the identifications allegedly were unreliable and the product of impermissibly suggestive procedures. But "in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider all of the evidence admitted by the trial court, regardless of whether that evidence was admitted erroneously." Chavers v. State , 304 Ga. 887, 892 (2) n.4, 823 S.E.2d 283 (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). Harris also argues that this Court "should weigh Ms. Fletcher's credibility and her inconsistent statements against the State." But as noted above, that was a matter for the jury. The State presented ample evidence, including the testimony of Carter and Fletcher, for the jury to conclude that Harris shot Phelps.

(b) Harris next argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his felony murder conviction because the State did not prove a nexus between the shooting and Phelps's death from blood clots

. We disagree. A person commits felony murder when, "in the commission of a felony, he or she causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice." OCGA § 16-5-1 (c). "The element of causation is determined under the proximate cause standard." Campbell-Williams v. State , 309 Ga. 585, 587 (2) (a), 847 S.E.2d 583 (2020). "Proximate causation imposes liability for the reasonably foreseeable results of criminal conduct if there is no sufficient, independent, and unforeseen intervening cause." Treadaway v. State , 308 Ga. 882, 884 (1), 843 S.E.2d 784 (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted).

An unlawful injury is the proximate cause of death when: (1) the injury itself constituted the sole proximate cause of death; or (2) the injury directly and materially contributed to the happening of a subsequent accruing immediate cause of death; or (3) the injury materially accelerated the death, although proximately occasioned by a pre-existing cause.

Id. (citation omitted).

Here, the evidence showed that Phelps developed blood clots

only after Harris shot him in the torso. The doctor who treated Phelps's life-threatening wounds stated that Phelps appeared to be otherwise healthy and showed no signs of blood clots. The medical examiner testified that Phelps's death was caused by blood clots resulting from his gunshot wound. She ruled out possible causes of clots unrelated to the shooting, such as weight and health history. Moreover, "[w]hether [Harris]’s actions were the sole cause of [Phelps]’s death or would have otherwise caused his death under different circumstances is immaterial." Treadaway , 308 Ga. at 885 (1), 843 S.E.2d 784. "[T]he offender takes [his] victim as [he] finds him." Id. (citation and punctuation omitted). The State thus provided the jury with sufficient evidence to conclude that the shooting was the proximate cause of Phelps's death. See Eberhart v. State , 307 Ga. 254, 261-262 (2) (a), 835 S.E.2d 192 (2019) (evidence sufficient to uphold defendant's felony murder conviction predicated on aggravated assault where medical examiner testified that the victim died from hypertensive cardiovascular...