Williams v. State
| Decision Date | 08 July 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. A99A0593.,A99A0593. |
| Citation | 521 S.E.2d 27,239 Ga. App. 30 |
| Parties | WILLIAMS v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
521 S.E.2d 27
239 Ga. App. 30
v.
The STATE
No. A99A0593.
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
July 8, 1999.
Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney, Bettieanne C. Hart, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
ANDREWS, Presiding Judge.
Allen Williams appeals from denial of his motion for new trial after his conviction of aggravated assault resulting from a fatal shooting arising from a disagreement over a quart of beer.1 Williams was acquitted of murder and felony murder charges.
On appeal, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict and the appellant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence; moreover, on appeal this court determines evidence sufficiency and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility. [Cit.]
Williams v. State, 217 Ga.App. 636, 638(3), 458 S.E.2d 671 (1995).
Viewed with all inferences in favor of the verdict, the evidence was that, on February 8, 1992, Williams and his female companion went to Willie's Tavern to have a few beers, and while in the bar, Williams [239 Ga. App. 31] consumed several quarts of beer. After Williams and "Big John" Calhoun had both ordered quarts of beer, a disagreement arose as to who was entitled to the first one served, and harsh words were exchanged.
Calhoun was approximately 6' 5" tall and 268 pounds, while Williams was 5' 1" and 130 pounds.
Williams slapped Calhoun and then reached into his coat as the argument continued. Calhoun went outside the bar and was waiting against the wall. Williams then produced a small handgun, went to the door, looked out, and fired two shots in Calhoun's direction. One of the shots struck Calhoun in the abdomen. Calhoun then reentered the bar and slashed Williams across the throat with a knife. Calhoun later collapsed from loss of blood and died.
Williams testified that Calhoun slapped him and his companion first and that Calhoun fired the two shots out the bar door. According to Williams, Calhoun then left, returning after 45 minutes, and as Williams was opening the bar door for his companion, Calhoun and a couple of others jumped him. Williams testified that "I managed—by the time I did like that to reach for my gun, there was [Calhoun] come next to the other hand and there were two shots pow pow just like that." Williams also testified he was trying to protect himself and his companion, and the gun went off.
The issue of which version of these events to believe, Williams' or the State's, was for the jury, which resolved the credibility issues in favor of the State. OCGA § 24-9-80. As noted above, we do not determine credibility, only the sufficiency of the evidence, Daras v. State, 201 Ga.App. 512(1), 411 S.E.2d 367 (1991), and it was sufficient. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); McSears v. State, 226 Ga.App. 90, 92(3), 485 S.E.2d 589 (1997).
2. Williams' third enumeration of error is that the trial court violated OCGA § 17-8-57 by stating, after hearing the pathologist, Dr. Koponen, recite his qualifications and after the State tendered him as an expert, that "[t]he Court will receive him as an expert." Williams argues this improperly gave the court's "official stamp" to the doctor in front of the jury.
Dr. Koponen conducted the autopsy of Calhoun and testified about the wounds he found and that, in his opinion, the bullet caused his death and it was a homicide.
An expert witness is anyone who, through training, education, skill, or experience, has peculiar knowledge that the average juror would not possess as to any question of science, skill, trade, or like...
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