Johnson v. State
| Decision Date | 06 February 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. A05A1957.,No. A05A1959.,No. A05A1958.,A05A1957.,A05A1958.,A05A1959. |
| Citation | 277 Ga. App. 499,627 S.E.2d 116 |
| Parties | JOHNSON v. The STATE. Wright v. The State. Chambers v. The State. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Richard Currie, District Attorney, Alexander J. Markowich, Assistant District Attorney, for The State.
Martin H. Eaves, Waycross, for Wright.
Joseph E. East, Kingsland, for Chambers.
Sidney L. Johnson, Jr., Geodonald Wright, and Willie Chambers were jointly indicted and convicted of one count of armed robbery (Count 1), four counts of kidnapping (Counts 2-5), five counts of aggravated assault (Counts 6-10), and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime (Count 11). Wright also was indicted and convicted on two counts of influencing a witness (Counts 12-13). In these companion appeals, Johnson, Wright, and Chambers contend that the trial court erred by denying their respective motions for new trial on several grounds. After reviewing the evidence of record, we conclude that there was insufficient evidence to convict Johnson on Counts 1-11, and so we reverse his convictions. We affirm in all other respects.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence reflects that on Friday, September 13, 2002, at approximately 10:00 p.m., three armed, masked black males ran through the front entrance of Mikey's Pizza, a restaurant located in Charlton County. One of the perpetrators pointed a handgun to the head of an employee, jerked the employee from his seat and forced him to walk over and open the cash register. Another employee was ordered at gunpoint to stay seated and to place his head on the table where he sat. The female employees were forced at gunpoint to the back corner of the restaurant and ordered to crouch on the floor.
Moving quickly, the perpetrators seized approximately $650 in United States currency and $1,000 in checks from the cash register. They also removed the change compartment attached to the register. After pushing the register to the floor, the perpetrators fled the scene on foot with the stolen money and change compartment.
911 was called and local law enforcement officials arrived within minutes. Because the perpetrators had been masked, none of the employees was able to identify the perpetrators, other than as black males. Nor was the detective in charge of processing the scene able to obtain any identifiable fingerprints from the restaurant.
The detective contacted a K-9 handler, who came to the scene and attempted to track the perpetrators using a bloodhound. After picking up a track outside the restaurant, the bloodhound quickly led the law enforcement officers to a single check, dated September 13, 2002, payable to Mikey's Pizza, lying on the side of the road approximately two street blocks from the restaurant. In the same vicinity, the bloodhound led the officers to the change compartment that had been taken from the cash register, and to a black Ruger nine millimeter pistol, located approximately three to six feet from the change compartment. The bloodhound eventually lost the track and was unable to lead the officers to any particular suspects. No fingerprints were recovered from the check, the change compartment, or the pistol.
During the course of the subsequent investigation, detectives learned that a young woman by the name of Shannon Gibson had purchased the pistol in January 2002 but then had given it to her boyfriend, Fielding Dean, as a birthday present. Dean also had another nine millimeter pistol that had been purchased by Gibson, which Dean referred to as "the Luger."
A week prior to the robbery, Dean decided he wanted to sell the Luger pistol. Dean contacted Brandon Smith, a high school classmate, to assist him in the sale. After placing both pistols in his truck, Dean drove while Smith directed him to an area of Charlton County known as "the sticks." Once there, Smith directed Dean to stop in front of a residence where Smith saw defendants Wright and Chambers standing outside. Smith knew Wright and Chambers because the three of them, along with defendant Johnson (who was not present in the yard), were members of the "Baby Gangsters," a group led by Wright.
Wright and Chambers came over to the vehicle, and Smith informed them about Dean's two pistols. They asked if they could see the pistols, and Dean obliged. Wright and Chambers then went into the residence, each carrying one of the two pistols. Neither returned. Dean left the residence empty-handed, with Smith's assurances that Smith would get the two pistols back. Smith never recovered the pistols for Dean, even though he later saw Chambers with the stolen pistols at a basketball court.
Smith saw Chambers again on September 13, 2002, the day of the robbery at Mikey's Pizza. That evening, Smith met up with Chambers and the other two defendants, Wright and Johnson, and together they walked from "the sticks" to a nearby area known as "the projects." The group split up at about 9:30 p.m., at which time Smith went to visit his friend Josh Winn, who lived in the projects. Later that night, sometime after 10:00 p.m., Smith and Winn encountered Wright on a nearby basketball court. Wright was carrying a bag. After they began talking with Wright, defendants Johnson and Chambers walked up, and then all five of them decided to go to Chambers' home.
After all five went into Chambers' bedroom, Wright stated that "he had done a lick." Wright then pulled a large amount of cash and several checks out of the bag he had been carrying. Wright counted the money in the presence of the others and then placed the money in his pocket. He did not give anyone else in the room any of the money. Smith and Winn then departed for Smith's home, where they spent the rest of the night.
Smith ran into Chambers two days later, on September 15, 2002. Chambers told Smith that he had accidentally dropped his gun while taking part in the robbery of Mikey's Pizza. Chambers was worried because he believed that his fingerprints might be on the gun.
Smith was interviewed by a detective with the Charlton County Sheriff's Office on September 18, 2002. Later that same day, a warrant for Chambers' arrest was obtained based on the information provided by Smith. After failing to locate Chambers at his home officers drove to the residence where the pistols had been stolen from Dean. When they arrived, Wright and Chambers fled the residence on foot. The officers were unable to catch them.
On September 19, 2002, after Wright learned that Smith had spoken with the detective, he confronted Smith behind one of the buildings in an apartment complex known as "Pine Point." During the course of the 15-to-20-minute confrontation, Wright repeatedly demanded to know what Smith had told the detective. Smith denied ever speaking with the detective, and Wright responded, saying, "Don't lie to me, man, don't lie to me." Afraid for his own safety and worried that Wright "might do something" to him since he had been labeled a "snitch," Smith steadfastly denied speaking with the detective. Smith knew that the Baby Gangsters had a code of silence, and Wright had previously told members of the group that if they spoke to or cooperated with the police, "It's me and you." Smith felt that he could not freely leave or voluntarily end the encounter with Wright. Indeed, the confrontation ended only after Smith's mother drove up and took Smith home.
On September 20, 2002, Smith again spoke with the detective and, among other things, told him about the incident with Wright the previous day. As a result of their conversation, a warrant for Wright's arrest on the charge of influencing a witness was obtained. Officers attempted to execute the warrant upon a room at the Star Motel where Wright had been residing, but were unable to locate Wright at the motel. Unbeknownst to them, Wright had left the state and headed to Jacksonville, Florida. However, ten days later, on September 30, 2002, a city sanitation worker located a firearm later identified as the Luger pistol stolen from Dean in a dumpster next to the Star Motel.
On November 3, 2002, Wright called Smith. During their telephone conversation, Wright again asked Smith what he had told the detective, and Smith denied having told the detective anything. The conversation then abruptly ended.
Johnson and Wright subsequently were arrested in adjoining rooms at a Jacksonville motel on November 12, 2002. In contrast, Johnson never left the state and was arrested in Charlton County.
1. Wright and Johnson contend that the evidence was insufficient to support their convictions on Counts 1-11. On appeal, neither defendant contests the fact that the State's evidence established that three black male perpetrators entered Mikey's Pizza on the night in question and committed armed robbery, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. Rather, both defendants argue that there was insufficient evidence identifying them as the perpetrators.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Cobb v. State, 275 Ga.App. 554(1), 621 S.E.2d 548 (2005). Where, as here, the evidence against the defendants is entirely circumstantial, "the proved facts must not only be consistent with the hypothesis of guilt, but must exclude every other reasonable hypothesis save that of guilt of the defendant[s]." Haxho v. State, 186 Ga.App. 393, 394(1), 367 S.E.2d 282 (1988). See also OCGA § 24-4-6. We will not disturb a jury's finding on whether the circumstantial evidence was sufficient unless it is unsupportable as a matter of law. Matthews v. State, 257 Ga.App. 886, 887(1), 572 S.E.2d 391 (2002).
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