Hinely v. State

• Decision Date: 25 November 2002
• Docket Number: No. S02A1207.,S02A1207.
• Citation: 275 Ga. 777,573 S.E.2d 66
• Parties: HINELY v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

573 S.E.2d 66

275 Ga. 777

HINELY v. The STATE.

No. S02A1207.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

November 25, 2002.

Darden, Burns & Burns, LLP, Richard M. Darden, Jennifer R. Burns, Savannah, for appellant.

J. Thomas Durden, Jr., Dist. Atty., Lewis M. Groover, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Jill M. Zubler, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee. HINES, Justice.

Hinely appeals his conviction for felony murder in connection with the death of Eugene "Sonny" Ashley.¹ For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Construed to support the verdicts, the evidence showed that at 7:00 a.m. on May 1, 1999, Hinely and Darlene Middleton began smoking crack cocaine. The small amount they had quickly ran out, and Middleton had Hinely drive her to Ashley's house to get some money; she described her relationship with Ashley as "like a boyfriend-girlfriend thing," and she would periodically perform oral sex on Ashley in exchange for money. When Hinely and Middleton approached Ashley's house in Hinely's white Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, Middleton switched to the driver's seat and Hinely "crouched down" in the passenger's seat to avoid being seen. Middleton told Ashley she needed money for gas and he gave her five dollars. Middleton and Hinely left, purchased crack cocaine with the five dollars, and quickly smoked it. They returned to Ashley's house, repeating the switch of drivers and Hinely's concealment, and this time Middleton got ten dollars from Ashley. Middleton and Hinely again left, purchased crack cocaine, and smoked it.

By this time, it was late enough for the restaurant at which Middleton worked to be open, and she and Hinely went there, obtained Middleton's pay check, cashed it, purchased some groceries, and then bought three "$20" units of crack cocaine. After they consumed this, they returned to Ashley's house. This time, Middleton drove Ashley to the store where he bought some wine; Hinely concealed himself outside the house until they left, and then searched the house for money. When Middleton and Ashley returned, she performed oral sex on him in exchange for twenty dollars. She and Hinely left, and again purchased crack cocaine and smoked it.

Middleton and Hinely went to the home of Gil Thompson. While there, Hinely went to the rear of the house for 15 minutes and took a pocket knife from the night stand of Thompson's brother. Hinely also borrowed a roll of duct tape, stating that he needed to repair his truck. He and Middleton then discussed a scheme to rob Ashley; Middleton was aware that Ashley received Social Security checks on the first and third days of each month. When they arrived back at Ashley's house, Middleton went inside and asked to use the bathroom. While she was inside the bathroom, Hinely entered the house, and Middleton heard Hinely ask if Ashley had any money. As Middleton exited the bathroom, she heard Hinely hit and slap Ashley. When she entered the living room, Ashley was seated in a chair while Hinely was hitting him around his face and head and asking for money. Hinely also held the knife he had taken from Thompson's home. Middleton told Hinely: "Let's just forget it. Let's go." Hinely replied: "Shut up before I kill you too." Hinely taped Ashley's wrists together with the duct tape, picked him up, and carried him into Ashley's bedroom. Middleton heard Ashley say, "You done cut my throat," and, "Please don't kill me." Middleton ran from the house and jumped into Hinely's truck. After several minutes, Hinely emerged from the house, got into the truck and told Middleton, "I think I killed him." There was blood on Hinely's clothes. This last visit to Ashley's house was somewhere between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

During one of Middleton's and Hinely's visits to Ashley's house, a relative of Ashley's, together with friends, came to visit Ashley. They saw Middleton inside the house, and she immediately left. They also saw Hinely "slouched down" in the passenger's seat of the pickup truck.

After Hinely and Middleton left Ashley's house, they drove to the home of Hinely's great-grandmother, where Hinely got a check for $200; Middleton did not enter the house. Hinely and Middleton went to a grocery store where Hinely cashed the check; they then bought more crack cocaine. Hinely gave Middleton crack cocaine worth between $120 and $160. Hinely dropped Middleton off in the vicinity of her home and told her she needed to leave town. She responded that she would not do so, and he told her that she was stupid and would go to jail. Hinely returned to his great-grandmother's home and spent the night, which he rarely did. The next day, he went to the home of Middleton's aunt, where Middleton was, and said that he wanted Middleton to go "somewhere" with him. She would not. At this time, Hinely was driving a white car rather than the pick-up truck. Later that day, he left town, and was later apprehended in the Atlanta area.

Ashley's body was found May 2, 1999, lying face up on a storage trunk in his bedroom. His wrists were taped together with duct tape and his arms were over his head. His ankles were also taped together with duct tape. The knife Hinely had taken from Thompson's house was discovered hidden under some neckties in a wardrobe locker in the bedroom, near the body. Ashley had been stabbed in the left side of the neck. There was bruising to the left side of his face, and mucous blood seeped from his mouth and nose. He died as a result of "positional asphyxia complicating blunt head injury and stab wound of the neck, with binding of the extremities." His wallet was found in the front yard of his house. When Middleton learned of Ashley's death, she telephoned the police, went to the sheriff's office, and made a statement.

Hinely and Middleton were charged in the same indictment. Middleton pled guilty to malice murder and testified at Hinely's trial.

1. Hinely contends that the evidence was insufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Hinely specifically contends that there was no evidence to corroborate the testimony of Middleton, his accomplice. See OCGA § 24-4-8. However, [t]he corroborating evidence connecting a defendant to a crime may consist entirely of circumstantial evidence, and evidence of the defendant's conduct before and after the crime was committed may give rise to an inference that the defendant participated in the crime. [Cit.] Whether the corroborating evidence is sufficient is a matter for the jury, and even slight evidence of corroboration connecting an accused to a crime is legally sufficient. [Cits.] Klinect v. State, 269 Ga. 570, 572(1), 501 S.E.2d 810 (1998).

Middleton's testimony was corroborated. The body was found in a manner consistent with her testimony. Thompson testified that Hinely took a roll of duct tape from Thompson's house, and such was found in Ashley's living room. No duct tape had been used to repair Hinely's pick-up truck. Thompson also identified the pocket knife that was found in Ashley's bedroom as the one kept on his brother's night stand. Ashley's relative and her friend saw Hinely at Ashley's house, trying to avoid detection. Other witnesses saw Hinely and Middleton driving together in his white pick-up truck on May 1, 1999, in the vicinity of Ashley's house, and saw the truck turn off the main road and drive down the dead-end road toward Ashley's house between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Hinely's stepfather confirmed that Hinely drove a white Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, and Hinely's great-grandmother corroborated Middleton's testimony that Hinely drove to his great-grandmother's home. Middleton's aunt testified that about noon on May 2, 1999, Hinely came searching for Middleton and wanted her to go with him. Finally, Hinely left town as he had warned Middleton she must do.

The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Hinely guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the felony murder of Eugene Ashley. Jackson, supra.

2. Hinely contends that, in several respects, he was not afforded effective assistance of counsel. In order to prevail on this claim, Hinely must show both that counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficient performance was prejudicial to his defense. Smith v. Francis, 253 Ga. 782, 783, 325 S.E.2d 362 (1985), citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). To meet the first prong of this test, he must overcome the "strong presumption" that counsel's performance fell within a "wide range of reasonable professional conduct," and that counsel's decisions were "made in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment." Id. The reasonableness of counsel's conduct is examined from counsel's perspective at the time of trial and under the circumstances of the case. Smith, supra at 784, 325 S.E.2d 362. The second prong requires that Hinely show that there is a reasonable probability that, absent counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the trial would have been different. Smith, supra at 783, 325 S.E.2d 362.

(a) Prior to trial, the State offered to allow Hinely to plead guilty to malice murder in exchange for a recommendation of life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Hinely contends that this offer was not properly communicated to him, but he testified at the hearing on his motion for new trial that he received the offer and was adamant in rejecting it as he claimed that he did not commit the crime. A hearing to address the plea was held a few days after the offer was made, and recessed for 52 minutes while Hinely spoke with his two attorneys about the offer; he had also spoken with counsel previously about it. After the recess, Hinely responded to the court's inquiry about the plea by stating that he did not wish to accept the offer. There is no ...