Walker v. State, A10A1606.

• Decision Date: 10 September 2010
• Docket Number: No. A10A1606.,A10A1606.
• Citation: 306 Ga.App. 16,10 FCDR 2988,701 S.E.2d 523
• Parties: WALKER v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

701 S.E.2d 523
306 Ga.App. 16
10 FCDR 2988

WALKER
v.
The STATE.

No. A10A1606.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Sept. 10, 2010.

701 S.E.2d 523

Sharon L. Hopkins, Augusta, for appellant.

Daniel J. Porter, Dist. Atty., Jimmie E. Baggett, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.

PHIPPS, Presiding Judge.

306 Ga.App. 16

After a jury trial, Antoine Walker was convicted of kidnapping with bodily injury, robbery, simple assault, and two counts of battery. The trial court merged the battery convictions into the kidnapping conviction for purposes of sentencing. Walker argues that the court erred in failing to charge the jury on good character evidence and in failing to merge the simple assault conviction into the kidnapping conviction for purposes of sentencing. Finding no error, we affirm.

The charges against Walker arose from an incident on June 9, 2006. The victim testified that Walker approached her as she was getting into her car, which was parked in a lot outside a restaurant. Walker asked her for help with a flat tire, then forced his way into her car, sitting on top of her and driving the car out of the parking lot. Walker told the victim that he had a gun, and she "began to yell and scream." The two struggled, and Walker bit and hit the victim, injuring her. Walker stopped the car in the parking lot of a nearby church and dragged the victim out of and around the car. The victim fled toward

701 S.E.2d 524

the church, and she saw Walker get back into the car and drive away.

Walker testified to a different version of the incident. He stated that, while in the restaurant parking lot, he observed the victim

306 Ga.App. 17

getting into a car that had two tires that were flat or low on air. He mentioned the tires to her, asked if she needed assistance, and told her that he would need to engage her parking brake. Believing that she acceded, Walker opened the driver's side door and reached into the car. The victim screamed, put the car into gear, and accelerated, with Walker inside the car. Walker was afraid for his life, and began struggling with the victim and yelling for her to stop the car. When the car stopped in the church parking lot, both Walker and the victim got out of it, and the victim began to run away, falling several times and injuring herself. Walker panicked, got back into the car, and drove away, before losing control of and crashing the car.

1. Citing Braddy v. State,¹ Walker contends that he was entitled to a jury charge on good character evidence. He asserts that the court's failure to give his requested charge was reversible error because he had put his character into evidence. Specifically, Walker points to his testimony concerning his educational background, employment history, and family, and he points to the following exchange during his direct examination:

Q. And, sir, you understand by testifying here today, the district attorney can present to this jury any convictions you have for felonies and any convictions you have for any crimes of moral turpitude; do you understand that?
A. Yes, sir, I understand.

We held in Braddy that "[w]hen there is an appropriate request, a proper instruction [on good character evidence] should be given in every case where the accused person puts his character in issue." ² Therein, we noted that the defendant, who had been charged with theft by receiving, had testified that he had never been charged with wrongdoing before, that...