Jackson v. State

• Decision Date: 05 February 1999
• Docket Number: No. A98A2125.,A98A2125.
• Citation: 511 S.E.2d 615,236 Ga. App. 260
• Parties: JACKSON et al. v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

511 S.E.2d 615

236 Ga. App. 260

JACKSON et al. v. The STATE.

No. A98A2125.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

February 5, 1999.

Straughan & Straughan, William T. Straughan, McRae, for appellants.

Timothy G. Vaughn, District Attorney, Russell P. Spivey, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

BLACKBURN, Judge.

Richard Jackson and Calvin Marshall appeal their convictions of aggravated assault and interference with government property following a jury trial. Jackson and Marshall contend that the trial court erred in failing to grant the motion for directed verdict and that the verdict is contrary to the evidence and against the weight of the evidence. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

"The standard of review for the denial of a motion for directed verdict of acquittal is the same as that for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction. Under that standard we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." (Punctuation omitted.) Wilson v. State, 233 Ga.App. 327, 328(1), 503 S.E.2d 924 (1998). Additionally, "[o]n appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict and the appellant[s] ... no longer enjoy[ ] the presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility but only determines whether the evidence is sufficient under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 [ (1979) ]. Conflicts in the testimony of the witnesses, including the State's witnesses, are a matter of credibility for the jury to resolve. As long as there is some competent evidence, even though contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State's case, the jury's verdict will be upheld." (Punctuation omitted.) Shabazz v. State, 229 Ga.App. 465(1), 494 S.E.2d 257 (1997). Since the same standard of review applies to all the enumerations of error, we will consider the enumerations together.

Viewed in this light, the evidence shows on August 8, 1996, Calvin Marshall became upset about arrests being made in an area of the City of Cochran known as the Hill and began repeatedly threatening to "do something about the police." Between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, appellants Marshall and Jackson, Taurius Pitts and two friends drove in Marshall's brown Cadillac to Cochran Bait & Tackle. Jackson and Pitts went into the shop where Jackson purchased a box of No. 3 shotgun shells and Pitts shoplifted a box of 9 millimeter bullets.

Around midnight that evening, Chief of Police Robert Schmitz, Investigator Jon Thrower and Mayor George Porter drove to the Hill. They heard gunfire as the car neared the intersection of sixth and Thompson Streets. Investigator Thrower got out of the car and approached the intersection on foot hoping to see who was doing the shooting. As Chief Schmitz turned the car onto Thompson Street, Pitts and Jackson began shooting at the car. The car was disabled after being hit several times by rounds from a 9 millimeter pistol and a 20-gauge shotgun.

One eyewitness, Eric Anderson, identified both Richard Jackson and Calvin Marshall as the shooters. A second eyewitness, Brock Johnson, testified at trial that he saw appellants Marshall and Jackson near the intersection and that h...