Sapp v. State

• Decision Date: 20 March 2017
• Docket Number: S17A0478
• Citation: 798 S.E.2d 226,300 Ga. 768
• Parties: SAPP v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

300 Ga. 768

798 S.E.2d 226

SAPP

v.The STATE.

S17A0478

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Decided: March 20, 2017

Sean Kenneth Scally, 5 Glynn Avenue, Brunswick, Georgia 31520, for Appellant.

Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Samuel S. Olens, Attorney General, Vanessa Therese Meyerhoefer, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, 40 Capitol Square, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334, Andrew J. Ekonomou, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, 701 H Street, Box 301, Brunswick, Georgia 31520, Jacquelyn Lee Johnson, District Attorney, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, P.O. Box 369, Woodbine, Georgia 31569, for Appellee.

HUNSTEIN, Justice.

Appellant Timothy Sapp was tried and convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the shooting death of Christopher Smith.¹ Sapp appeals, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Finding no error, we affirm.

In his sole enumeration of error, Sapp claims that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to authorize a conviction as, he alleges, he was convicted on purely circumstantial evidence. We disagree.

When evaluating the sufficiency of evidence, the proper standard for review is whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). "This Court does not reweigh evidence or resolve conflicts in testimony; instead, evidence is reviewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, with deference to the jury's assessment of the weight and credibility of the evidence." Hayes v. State , 292 Ga. 506, 506, 739 S.E.2d 313 (2013).... "While mere presence at the scene of a crime is not sufficient evidence to convict one of being a party to a crime, criminal intent may be inferred from presence, companionship, and conduct before, during and after the offense."

Belsar v. State , 276 Ga. 261, 262 (1), 577 S.E.2d 569 (2003). See also OCGA § 16-2-20 (party to a crime statute); OCGA § 24-14-6 ("To warrant a conviction on circumstantial evidence, the proved facts shall not only be consistent with the hypothesis of guilt, but shall exclude every other reasonable hypothesis save that of the guilt of the accused.").

Thomas v. State , 300 Ga. 433, ––––, 796 S.E.2d 242 (2017).

With these principles in mind, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, the evidence was sufficient to sustain Sapp's convictions and sentences. The record shows that, in the late evening hours of July 27, 2012, Sapp and his brother Cyrus Bell went to Woodbine Apartments in Woodbine, Camden County, Georgia. Sometime after their arrival, the men ran into Clarence Loggins, a resident of the apartment complex. Loggins and Sapp greeted one another with a brief hug, at which time Loggins felt a gun in Sapp's waistband. Sapp then asked Loggins if he had seen the victim, Christopher "Peanut" Smith.

That same evening, one of the victim's neighbors was outside smoking a cigarette when he saw a man dressed in all black talking on a cell phone. The man walked by the neighbor's apartment and then turned a corner. Moments later, the neighbor heard a gunshot and saw shadowy figures near the direction of the noise. The neighbor then heard a second gunshot after which Smith yelled, "Here, take it all." At that time, the witness saw a man in all black by his apartment. The neighbor went inside his residence and called 911, then exited again after hearing Smith moaning outside. He found the victim lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back. Smith was taken to Camden Medical Center where he later died of his injury.

Shortly after the murder, Sapp and Bell drove to the house of their nephew, Telvis Brown. Brown recalled that Sapp: was dressed in all black; had a black bandana tied around his face; appeared nervous and sweaty; and, upon his arrival, removed a fresh set of clothes from a book bag and changed. The men left the bag with Brown and then drove off. Brown later opened Sapp's bag and removed two guns. He set them onto a dresser, took a picture of them and sent it to his girlfriend; this photograph was admitted at trial. Sapp called Brown two more times, first warning him not to say anything about what had occurred, then later informing Brown that he would come back to...