Hendrix v. State, A91A2117
Citation | 413 S.E.2d 232,202 Ga.App. 54 |
Decision Date | 22 November 1991 |
Docket Number | No. A91A2117,A91A2117 |
Parties | HENDRIX v. The STATE. |
Court | United States Court of Appeals (Georgia) |
Glover & Davis, R. Keith Prater, Newnan, for appellant.
John H. Cranford, Sol., for appellee.
Defendant was convicted of knowingly obstructing a law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties, a misdemeanor. This appeal comes after the denial of defendant's motion for a new trial. Held:
1. Following a fatal shooting in East Newnan, Georgia, by a Coweta County deputy sheriff, the Coweta County Sheriff's Department attempted to secure the scene of the shooting. A large crowd, including relatives of the deceased, made their way to the scene, shouting obscenities at the officers. Defendant, a cousin of the deceased, arrived and, along with several others, "continued to stir the crowd up." Defendant was told by several deputy sheriffs to leave the scene on several occasions.
One deputy, Lt. Kinsey, testified that his efforts to seal off the scene were hindered by defendant and the crowd. He warned defendant that he would be arrested if he did not leave. Defendant would leave, only to return again. When defendant returned to the scene for the third time, he was arrested.
Patterson v. State, 191 Ga.App. 359, 381 S.E.2d 754.
2. Defendant contends the trial court should have granted a motion for mistrial which was made in the midst of the solicitor's opening argument. In this connection, defendant asserts the solicitor told the jury that he would not be prosecuting defendant if he did not have enough evidence to sustain a conviction. We find this contention to be without merit inasmuch as it is not supported by the record.
3. Defendant contends the trial court erred in permitting the deputies to give "hearsay" testimony regarding the sheriff's orders to disperse. Even if it can be said that the testimony constituted hearsay, but see OCGA § 24-3-3 and Waller v. State, 80 Ga.App. 488, 491, 56 S.E.2d 491, the deputies themselves testified that they ordered the crowd and defendant to leave the scene. Accordingly, we find no harmful error. Waters v. State, 122 Ga.App. 808, 809(3), 810, 178 S.E.2d 770.
4. During direct examination, Lt. Kinsey testified that another person arrested at the scene "plead guilty in this ..." When defendant moved for a mistrial, the trial court admonished the jury: Thereupon, the motion for a mistrial was renewed and overruled. Defendant contends the trial court erred in overruling his motion for a mistrial. We disagree.
We recognize that Mindock v. State, 187 Ga.App. 508, 509, 370 S.E.2d 670. Accord Boatwright v. State, 193 Ga.App. 141, 142(2), 387 S.E.2d 386. Reversal is not required, however, where a joint offender's guilty plea is admitted with instructions that it is not to be used as evidence of defendant's guilt. Greer v. State, 188 Ga.App. 808, 374 S.E.2d 337; Foster v. State, supra.
"The trial court has broad discretion in fashioning a remedy to alleviate a problem created by the utterance of inadmissible evidence, and its exercise may not be...
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