Ragland v. State

• Decision Date: 16 June 2015
• Docket Number: No. A15A0052.,A15A0052.
• Citation: 332 Ga.App. 510,773 S.E.2d 772
• Parties: RAGLAND v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

332 Ga.App. 510
773 S.E.2d 772

RAGLAND
v.
The STATE.

No. A15A0052.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

June 16, 2015.

773 S.E.2d 773

Steven Mitchell Harrison, for Appellant.

Karl David Cooke Jr., Dist. Atty., Dorothy Vinson Hull, Asst. Dist. Atty., for Appellee.

Opinion

773 S.E.2d 774

McFADDEN, Judge.

332 Ga.App. 510

Terrance Devon Ragland appeals his convictions of rape and enticing a child for indecent purposes. Ragland argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel but has failed to overcome the strong presumption that counsel's performance fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. He argues that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of a similar transaction but has failed to show that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting that evidence. Finally he argues that the evidence does not support his convictions, but we find the evidence sufficient. We therefore affirm.

1. Sufficiency of the evidence.

In considering whether the evidence is sufficient to support a defendant's conviction, “the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319(III)(B), 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (citation omitted; emphasis in original). So viewed, the evidence showed that on the evening of June 23, 2010, the 13–year–old victim was walking to her aunt's house when a man drove up and offered her a ride. She recognized the man because he had spoken with her mother before. She therefore felt safe with him and accepted the ride.

Instead of driving the victim to her aunt's house, the man drove her behind a vacant apartment building. He locked the doors of the vehicle and climbed into the back seat where the victim was sitting. Then he held her down, removed her pants, and put his penis in her vagina.

At one point, the man got off the victim, returned to the driver's seat, and began driving. When he slowed down, the victim got out of the car and ran to her aunt's house. She told her aunt what had happened and the aunt called the victim's mother, who came over, as did police.

The victim described the man's appearance, his clothing, and his car, and told her mother that the man said he knew her. The mother determined that the victim was referring to Ragland and told the

332 Ga.App. 511

police. An officer drove the victim and her mother to the hospital, where, from a photograph, the victim identified Ragland as the perpetrator. The emergency room physician who examined the victim testified that the victim's hymen had been lacerated and her cervix bruised, injuries that were consistent with the victim having been sexually assaulted.

Ragland testified on his own behalf at trial. He admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the victim. But he testified that the victim had told him that she was 17 years old. He also testified that the sex was consensual.

The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Ragland was guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted. Jackson, supra, 443 U.S. at 319(III)(B), 99 S.Ct. 2781.

2. Effective assistance of counsel.

Ragland argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in two regards. Because Ragland failed to call trial counsel to testify at the motion for new trial hearing, however, he has failed to overcome the presumption that counsel's performance fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.

To prevail on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Ragland is required to show both deficient performance by trial counsel and actual prejudice. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687(III), 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) ; Smith v. Francis, 253 Ga. 782, 783(1), 325 S.E.2d 362 (1985). If Ragland “fails to meet his burden of proving either prong, then we do not need to examine the other prong.” Works v. State, 301 Ga.App. 108, 114(7), 686 S.E.2d 863 (2009) (citation omitted).

The first instances about which Ragland complains occurred during the testimony of a police officer. On direct examination, the officer described driving around, looking for Ragland's vehicle, when he saw the victim's grandmother. He testified that the grandmother, “asked me what I was doing, was I looking for the guy that raped her granddaughter.... And she told who it was and

773 S.E.2d 775

told me about an incident that had happened earlier.” The prosecutor responded, “Sorry, I don't want you to get into what somebody else said.” Defense counsel did not object.

Then on cross-examination, defense counsel asked...