Perry v. State
| Decision Date | 06 May 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. A98A1078.,A98A1078. |
| Citation | 232 Ga. App. 484,500 S.E.2d 923 |
| Parties | PERRY v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Wanda S. Jackson, Atlanta, for appellant.
David McDade, District Attorney, William H. McClain, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
The appellant, Lorenzo Perry, was convicted of armed robbery (four counts), criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault on a peace officer, kidnapping, kidnapping with bodily injury, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and theft by receiving stolen property.
The evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict shows the following: On June 1, 1993, three men, wearing ski masks, gloves, dark clothing with long sleeves, and long pants, robbed the Commercial Bank at the intersection of Maxham Road and Thornton Road in Douglas County. All three men were carrying guns. One of the men stood guard at the door and counted seconds, while the other two men demanded, at gunpoint, that the employees of the bank give them money from the teller windows and the vault. One of the men forced bank manager Sharon Lovvorn from her office at gunpoint, threatened her life, and threw her down on the floor in the lobby area of the bank, injuring her knee. The three men also threatened the lives of others during the robbery.
The three men fled from the bank in a stolen, red 1986 Nissan pickup truck. Deputy Sheriff Mitch Vaughn of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department responded to the silent alarm. When he arrived at the bank, he observed a red Nissan pickup truck exiting the bank parking lot with a large cloud of red smoke, which appeared to be from a dye bomb, coming from the bed of the truck. Deputy Vaughn pursued the truck as the occupants fired shots at him.
Eventually, the men stopped the truck and fled into a wooded area, firing shots at Deputy Vaughn. Other police officers converged on the scene and set up a perimeter around the wooded area. Tracking dogs were brought in. All three men were captured.
The stolen vehicle in which the appellant and his companions used to flee the bank contained a bullet hole. A bullet that was recovered from the tailgate was consistent with the defendants shooting in the direction of Deputy Vaughn and striking the tailgate of their own vehicle. Paul Dragan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms examined the recovered bullet and the revolver the police found hidden in the woods and concluded that the bullet was fired from the revolver.
The appellant, without challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, raises two enumerations of error.
1. In his first enumeration of error, the appellant asserts that the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury on the lesser included offense of robbery. However, (Emphasis in original.) Edwards v. State, 264 Ga. 131, 133, 442 S.E.2d 444 (1994); see also Shepherd v. State, 234 Ga. 75, 214 S.E.2d 535 (1975). Under the facts of this case, the evidence established that if the appellant was guilty of any offense, he was guilty of armed robbery. Therefore, the trial court did not err in failing to charge the jury on robbery.
2. The appellant also alleges that the trial court erred by failing to declare a mistrial or give a curative instruction for improper statements made by the prosecutor during closing argument.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Grant v. State, 185 Ga.App. 497, 364 S.E.2d 628 (1988). There was no such abuse of discretion in this case.
(a) The appellant alleges that the prosecutor made certain statements which were solely for the effect of appealing to the sympathy or prejudices of the jurors. The prosecutor argued: The prosecutor later argued that: 1
Waites v. State, 178 Ga.App. 333, 335, 343 S.E.2d 115 (1986). The appellant's argument is without merit. (b) The appellant also argues that in closing argument, the prosecutor commented on the appellant's failure to present a defense to prove his innocence. The transcript does not support this contention. The prosecutor argued that:
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Davis v. State
...for counsel to draw deductions from the evidence regardless of how illogical or unreasonable.' [Cit.]" Perry v. State, 232 Ga.App. 484, 487(2)(c), 500 S.E.2d 923 (1998). Nevertheless, even if the argument went beyond the permissible range, given that the trial court instructed the jury that......
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Cherry v. State
...Hambrick v. State, 278 Ga.App. at 772(3), 629 S.E.2d 442; Dudley v. State, 283 Ga.App. 86, 88(2), 640 S.E.2d 677 (2006); Perry v. State, 232 Ga.App. 484, 486(2)(a), 500 S.E2d 923 2. Cherry next asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict as to Counts 1 an......
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Pullin v. State
...the State has the right to argue that the defense failed to rebut or contradict evidence demonstrating guilt. Perry v. State, 232 Ga.App. 484, 487(2)(b), 500 S.E.2d 923 (1998)." Thomas v. State, supra, 254 Ga.App. at 130, 561 S.E.2d 4. Pullin's third enumeration is that the trial court erre......
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Slaughter v. State, A99A1373.
...of Slaughter's co-defendants were affirmed on appeal in Thomas v. State, 226 Ga.App. 441, 487 S.E.2d 75 (1997) and Perry v. State, 232 Ga.App. 484, 500 S.E.2d 923 (1998). The evidence showed that Slaughter, Thomas, and Perry entered the bank each carrying a firearm and forced four different......