Martinez v. State

• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: BLACKBURN
• Citation: Martinez v. State, 702 S.E.2d 747, 306 Ga.App. 512, 10 FCDR 3433 (Ga. App. 2010)
• Decision Date: 19 October 2010
• Docket Number: Nos. A10A1904, A10A1905.,s. A10A1904, A10A1905.
• Parties: MARTINEZ v. The STATE. Quiroz v. The State.

702 S.E.2d 747

306 Ga.App. 512

10 FCDR 3433

MARTINEZ

v.The STATE.

Quiroz

v.The State.

Nos. A10A1904, A10A1905.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Oct. 19, 2010.

Brown & Gill, William L. Gill, Augusta, for appellant (case no. A10A1904).

Sharon L. Hopkins, Augusta, for appellant (case no. A10A1905).

Daniel J. Porter, Dist. Atty., Lisa A. Jones, Stephen A. Fern, Asst. Dist. Attys., for appellee.

BLACKBURN, Senior Appellate Judge.

Following a jury trial on a forty-nine-count indictment, Paulino Gonzalez Martinez was convicted of twenty-eight counts, including ten counts of false imprisonment,¹ six counts of armed robbery,² four counts of burglary,³ three counts of aggravated assault,⁴ two counts of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery,⁵ one count of criminal attempt to commit burglary,⁶ one count of kidnapping,⁷ and one count of sexual battery.⁸ The jury could not reach a verdict as toeighteen counts, and acquitted Martinez of the remaining three counts.

Martinez's co-defendant, Javier Alonso Quiroz, was charged under the same indictment with 36 counts. He was convicted of twenty-three of those charges, including ten counts of false imprisonment, six counts of armed robbery, three counts of burglary, two counts of aggravated assault, and a single count each of kidnapping and sexual battery. The jury could not reach a verdict as to five counts and acquitted Quiroz of the remaining eight counts.

In Case No. A10A1904, Martinez appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial, asserting: (1) that because the only evidence supporting his conviction on counts 19-43 of the indictment was the uncorroborated testimony of a single co-conspirator, that evidence was insufficient as a matter of law; (2) that his prosecution for the crimes charged in Counts 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, Counts 23 through 25, Counts 29 through 33, Counts 39 through 43, and Counts 46 of the indictment was barred by the applicable statute of limitation; and (3) that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a jury instruction on the statute of limitation issue. In Case No. A10A1905, Quiroz appeals the denial of his new trial motion, alleging: (1) that because the only evidence supporting his conviction on Counts 20 through 25 of the indictment was the uncorroborated testimony of a single co-conspirator, that evidence was insufficient as a matter of law; (2) that his prosecution for the crimes charged in Counts 19, 22 through 26, Counts 28 through 35, and Counts 38 through 40 of the indictment was barred by the applicable statute of limitation; (3) that the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to introduce certain evidence to impeach the testimony given by one or more of his alleged accomplices; (4) that the trial court erred in failing to give his requested jury instruction on alibi; and (5) that the trial court erred in refusing to grant him a remedy for the State's failure to identify which of its witnesses it intended to call to rebut Quiroz's alibi evidence.

We find that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions of both Martinez and Quiroz, and that the trial court did not err in its evidentiary rulings or in instructing the jury. We further find, however, that the applicable statute of limitation barred prosecutionof the crimes charged in Counts 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 39, and 40 of the indictment. Accordingly, we affirm Martinez's and Quiroz's convictions on all counts not barred by the statute of limitation, but reverse as to the remaining counts. We further hold that the State may not retry Martinez and Quiroz on those counts as to which the jury could not reach a verdict and whoseprosecution is time-barred.

On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence is construed in the light most favorable to the verdict of guilt, and the presumption of innocence no longer applies. As an appellate court, we do not weigh the evidence, judge the credibility of witnesses, or resolve conflicts in trial testimony when the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged. Instead, we determine if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Grimes v. State.⁹

So viewed, the record shows that this case arose out of a series of nine home invasions or attempted home invasions that occurred in Gwinnett County between February and April 2004. Each of the home invasions was referred to by the name of the street where it occurred; thus the nine incidents were referred to as Oakland Walk, River Landing, Glenwhite Drive, Sandune Drive, Skyview Lane, Shadowood Road, Appian Way, Windsor Woods, and Davenport Park. All of the home invasions shared certain similarities. Specifically, each was carried out by a group of Hispanic males, dressed in dark clothing and wearing ski masks. The assailants all carried guns and in each case they tied up their victims, and stole money, jewelry, and small items such as cellular phones, laptop computers, and video-gaming systems. In several instances, they stole a vehicle that was located at the home being robbed. The specific facts regarding four of these nine incidents are relevant to the current appeal: the Sandune Drive home invasion and robbery, the Skyview Lane home invasion and robbery, the Shadowood Road home invasion and robbery, and the Appian Way attempted home invasion.

Sandune Drive (Counts 19 through 25). In the early morning hours of April 9, 2004, a group of masked gunmen broke into a home on Sandune Drive and robbed the occupants at gunpoint, stealing clothing, wallets, money, and other items. They tied up the residents and assaulted one by kicking him and, before leaving, the assailants shot another of the residents in the leg. As they left, the perpetrators stole a Ford truck that was parked at the residence. They then stole the truck's audio system before abandoning the vehicle. At trial, evidence established that the residents of Sandune Drive were six male roommates, at least two of whom worked on construction crews with Martinez and three of his original co-defendants.

Skyview Lane and Shadowood Road (Counts 26-41). During the early morning hours of April 18, 2004, masked gunmen broke into a residence located on Skyview Lane. The gunmen tied up the husband, wife, and two children who lived in the home, and then beat the husband and sexually battered the wife. The gunmen stole money, jewelry, a computer, and other items, as well as a vehicle. Four of the gunmen took the wife from the residence and demanded that she show them her sister's house, which was located in the same neighborhood. The remaining gunmen stayed behind at the Skyview Lane residence while the wife drove with the other assailants to her sister's home, on Shadowood Road.

Upon arriving at the sister's house, the gunmen made the wife knock on the door, and when the sister's husband responded to the knock, they forced their way into the home. The gunmen then tied up the wife a second time, as well as all the residents of Shadowood Road, and robbed the residents of personal items, such as a cellular telephone, money, and jewelry. One of the assailants' tortured the sister's husband with a heated knife and threatened the husband's child to get the husband to tell him where money was hidden. After the gunmen located that money, they stole the same and fled the scene.

Appian Way (Counts 42 and 43). After the invasion of their home on Shadowood Road, the family living there relocated to a residence on Appian Way. Early on the morning of April 27, 2004, masked men attempted to force their way into that home, but fled after one of the residents fired gunshots in their direction.

On April 30, 2004, police made a traffic stop of one of Martinez and Quiroz's original co-defendants. Evidence found in that vehicle and obtained during a subsequent police interview with that co-defendant led police to obtain arrest warrants for eight additional men, including Martinez and Quiroz. Police also obtained search warrants for two apartments used as residences by several of the suspected assailants. Martinez and at least three of his original co-defendants lived at one of those apartments, referred to as the "Clairmont Springs" apartment. Officers arrested Martinez and two other suspects at the Clairmont Springs apartment, where they also found a number of items similar to those used in the home invasions, including guns, ammunition, and masks, gloves, and other clothing like that worn by the robbers. At that apartment, police also recovered numerous items stolen from the victims at Skyview Lane and Shadowood Road, including jewelry, a laptop computer, and a video-gaming system.

On July 21, 2004, Martinez, Quiroz, and seven co-defendants were indicted on 24 counts ("the 2004 indictment"). Both Martinez and Quiroz were charged with crimes arising out of each of the ninehome invasions; the crimes charged were burglary, armed robbery, aggravated assault, sexual battery, and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery.

Seven of the defendants named in the 2004 indictment were either tried on those charges or pled guilty, leaving only Martinez and Quiroz with their cases unresolved. On February 11, 2009, Gwinnett County re-indicted Martinez and Quiroz ("the 2009 indictment"). Charges against Quiroz arising out of the first two home invasions (Oakland Walk and River Landing) were dropped, based upon documents showing that at the time of those incidents Quiroz was in custody in North Carolina. Thus, the 2009 indictment charged Martinez with forty-nine counts arising out of the nine home invasions and charged Quiroz with thirty-six counts arising out of seven of the home invasions. Specifically, the 2009 indictment added eighteen counts of false imprisonment, six additional counts of armed robbery, one additional count of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of kidnapping. It also substituted a charge of criminal attempt to commit burglary, in lieu of one of the...