Meadows v. State

• Decision Date: 14 November 2003
• Docket Number: No. A03A1582, No. A03A1583.
• Citation: 590 S.E.2d 173,264 Ga. App. 160
• Parties: MEADOWS v. The STATE. Thomas v. The State.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

590 S.E.2d 173

264 Ga. App. 160

MEADOWS v. The STATE.

Thomas v. The State.

Nos. A03A1582, A03A1583.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

November 14, 2003.

Clark & Towne, Lawrenceville, Wystan B. Getz, for appellant (case no. A03A1582).

Carnesale & Deland, Charles C. Flinn, Conyers, for appellant (case no. A03A1583).

Richard R. Read, Dist. Atty., Roberta A. Earnhardt, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee. SMITH, Chief Judge.

Allen Lewayne Meadows and Renardo Thomas were convicted of the offenses of burglary, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Following the denial of their motions for new trial, they appeal. In Case No. A03A1582, we affirm the trial court's denial of Meadows's motion for new trial. In Case No. A03A1583, however, we conclude that the trial court should have granted the motion for new trial filed by Thomas.

Construed in favor of the jury's verdict, the State presented evidence that the victim and his wife lived in an apartment located at 923 Renaissance Way in Rockdale County. They were sitting inside their living room at approximately 3:20 a.m. on February 11, 2002, when their front door suddenly burst open. The victim saw two men outside the apartment, one of whom walked two or three steps inside his doorway and shot once or twice. The victim returned fire with his own gun, shooting four or five times, and the two assailants ran away. The victim could not identify either assailant and stated only that the man who shot at him was wearing a hooded sweater. Earlier in the evening, because a break-in had occurred in his apartment approximately two weeks before this incident, the victim had placed a chair weighted with dumbbells against the door. The victim had also activated his burglar alarm, but the alarm did not sound when the door burst open. Evidence was presented showing that the alarm functioned through use of telephone lines and that the phone lines to the entire apartment building had been disabled.

A neighbor testified that the sound of gunfire awakened him at approximately 3:00 a.m. on February 11. He had a view of the "[t]he breeze way area where the two gentlemen ran out of," and he saw two men run into the parking lot. One man left the scene in a large sport utility vehicle, and the other left in a small red pickup truck. Another resident, an off-duty DeKalb County police officer who lived in the complex and had a "panoramic view" of the area, also was awakened by gunshots. He saw a black man running away from Building 900. The man got into a small red truck, which temporarily became stuck in some fencing. The truck eventually left the scene, followed closely by a sport utility vehicle.

Over objection, Greg Cipriano, a detective with the DeKalb County Police Department, testified about the substance of a statement given to him by Meadows. He received a call early in the morning of February 11 concerning two shooting victims who were being treated at a hospital nearby. He talked with Meadows at the hospital and asked him how he incurred his injury. Meadows told Cipriano that he and Thomas were at a nightclub in DeKalb County and "met up with a third male." Meadows, Thomas, and the unnamed man left the nightclub in Meadows's pickup truck. At the unidentified man's direction, Meadows left DeKalb County and stopped in "an unknown area." Meadows and Thomas left the truck momentarily to relieve themselves, and when they returned, the third man was gone, along with Meadows's handgun. "Somehow they were directed to a house in the neighborhood where this third person apparently went to." Meadows explained to Cipriano that they forced entry into the house, the homeowner opened fire, and they received gunshot wounds and then used the truck to get themselves to the hospital. Based on information he received from hospital personnel, Cipriano located the truck in which Meadows and Thomas had arrived, a red Ford Ranger.

Tucker Vanderbunt, a detective with the City of Conyers Police Department, arrived at the victim's home shortly after he received a call at 3:30 a.m. A .40 caliber handgun was found on the rear steps leading to the victim's apartment, and a .40 caliber casing and projectile were found inside the living room of the apartment. In addition, two .40 caliber shell casings were found inside Meadows's truck. The victim turned his weapon, a.357 revolver, over to the police. Later that day, Vanderbunt went to the hospital, after learning that two patients there had reported gunshot wounds. He examined the Ford Ranger pickup truck in which Meadows and Thomas had arrived. He observed bloodstains and several pairs of gloves in the truck bed. The next day, he returned to the hospital and talked with Meadows. Although Meadows was on pain medication, he was coherent and appeared to understand what Vanderbunt said to him. Their conversation was recorded, and the tape was played for the jury, over objection by both defendants. Vanderbunt also talked with Thomas, and their conversation was likewise recorded and played for the jury, over objection. Typed transcripts of the conversations were provided for the jury. According to Vanderbunt, Thomas appeared to be oriented to time and space and was willing to speak with him. Vanderbunt testified that although Thomas appeared to "be in a little pain," he did not "appear to be under the influence" of medication.¹

According to the transcription included in the record, the substance of Meadows's statement to Vanderbunt follows: Meadows and "Nardo" were visiting a nightclub, and they gave an unidentified man a ride in Meadows's red Ford Ranger. They stopped at a gated apartment complex and gained entry when the other man "pressed in a code." Meadows and Thomas exited the truck to use the bathroom. When Meadows returned, his.40 caliber gun was missing, along with the unidentified man. He and "Nardo" followed the man into one of the apartment buildings and heard a door close. Meadows knocked on the door and stated, "Hey partner, give me [the] gun back." He did not receive an answer, so he struck the door with his shoulder, knocked it open, and was shot. He was wearing a gray hooded sweater. He and "Nardo" both received gunshot wounds, and they left the scene in Meadows's truck.

Approximately midway through his interview with Meadows, Vanderbunt took a break and talked with Thomas but then returned and completed the conversation with Meadows. According to the transcript of the taped interview, Vanderbunt told Meadows that he was not under arrest but that he needed "to read you your rights because I am getting a couple of conflicting statements." Vanderbunt read Meadows his Miranda rights, after which Meadows stated that he would "talk to you." Meadows then stated that when he attempted to hit the door, "[t]here was something at the door cause it stopped. And then there was a muzzle flash." He explained that he used the gloves found in his truck for his auto detail business.

According to the transcription of Vanderbunt's interview with Thomas, Thomas stated that he and "Al" were taking a girl home from a club and stopped at an apartment complex, where the girl used her key card to gain entry. Thomas thought someone was following them. After the vehicle stopped, "Al" and the girl began walking toward the apartment building, he exited the truck in order to use the bathroom, and "somebody started shooting." He was shot. He saw "some dudes running toward a truck" that appeared to be a sport utility vehicle. Meadows drove him to the hospital. During Meadows's interview, he claimed that Thomas might have been hallucinating about the presence of a girl.

Blood samples were taken from Meadows and Thomas at the hospital, and blood samples were taken from the sidewalk outside the victim's apartment and from the truck bed. An expert witness who compared all of the samples testified that those taken from the sidewalk and the truck bed matched "the blood of Renardo Thomas, either him or his identical twin."

Case No. A03A1582

1. Meadows argues that his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation was violated when the trial court erroneously admitted his co-defendant's statement. We find no reversible error with respect to the admission of Thomas's statement.

Thomas's statement implicated Meadows, as it placed him at the crime scene. But Meadows's own statement, which was admissible against him at trial, also placed him at the scene. More importantly, Meadows admitted that he forcefully entered an apartment. In addition, .40 caliber casings were found both in his truck and inside the apartment. Any incriminating information contained in Thomas's statement was merely cumulative of properly admitted testimony. Consequently, even assuming that Thomas's statement was erroneously admitted, Meadows cannot show that he was harmed by its admission. See Copeland v. State, 266 Ga. 664, 666-667(3)(b), 469 S.E.2d 672 (1996).

2. Meadows argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of aggravated assault against the other victim, as charged in the indictment. He contends that "[t]he State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [the wife] was aware of the alleged deadly weapon, was afraid for her own safety, or was actually present during the assault." Even though the wife did not testify, the husband testified that he and his wife, who had the same name as the victim listed in the indictment, were sitting inside their living room when a man burst into their apartment and fired at least two shots. He also stated that his wife "was so scared. I think she was like, she was dizzy, you know, like crying, you know." Given this evidence, we cannot conclude that the wife was unaware of the gun or that she was afraid.

3. Contrary to Meadows's argument, the trial court did not err in its instructions concerning burglary. Among other things, the court charged the jury that a person commits burglary...