Broyard v. State

755 S.E.2d 36, 325 Ga. App. 794, 2014 Fulton County D. Rep. 408, 2014 WL 658073, 2014 Ga. App. LEXIS 75
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 21, 2014
DocketA13A2318
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 755 S.E.2d 36 (Broyard v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Broyard v. State, 755 S.E.2d 36, 325 Ga. App. 794, 2014 Fulton County D. Rep. 408, 2014 WL 658073, 2014 Ga. App. LEXIS 75 (Ga. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Miller, Judge.

Following a jury trial, Kevin Broyard was convicted of armed robbery (OCGA § 16-8-41 (a)), two counts of aggravated assault (OCGA § 16-5-21 (a)), possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (OCGA § 16-11-106 (b) (1)), and fleeing or attempting to elude an officer (OCGA § 40-6-395 (a)). Broyard appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and (2) the trial court erred in failing to sever his trial from that of his co-defendant. For the reasons set forth below, we vacate Broyard’s conviction on one of the aggravated assault counts and remand this case for resentencing.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the trial evidence shows that, on the night of July 12, 2008, Broyard drove his co-defendant, Nolan Welch, in a red pickup truck to the Burger King restaurant on the corner of Fairview Road and Panola Road in Henry County to get something to eat. Around 8:45 that evening, Welch entered the restaurant wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved thermal shirt, a green and yellow hat and Nike shoes. Welch entered through the door on the right side of the restaurant, approached the front cashier, pulled out a black automatic pistol, pointed the pistol at her face, and told her to open the cash drawer (Count 3). In addition to the pistol, Welch was holding a blue and black bag.

When the cashier told Welch that the manager had the key to the cash drawer, Welch asked “[w]here’s the manager?” Welch waved the gun at the cashier and told her to slide over. The cashier then got down on the floor and crawled on her knees to the back of the restaurant. When the cashier got to the back, other employees opened up the drive-through window. The cashier, the back line cook and [795]*795other employees then crawled through the window and ran to a McDonald’s where one of the employees called 911.

Meanwhile, the assistant manager, who was working the night shift, saw Welch enter the restaurant while the manager was helping a customer. When the cashier alerted the manager, he turned around and saw Welch in the green hat holding the pistol. Welch pointed the pistol at the manager’s face, and told the manager to open the cash register and empty it. While the manager was getting the key, Welch hit the manager over the head with the pistol and told the manager to hurry up (Count 2).

When the manager opened the cash drawer, Welch grabbed the drawer, took the money and hopped over the counter (Count 1). Welch then went to the drive-through area, pushed the manual button on the drive-through register, took the money in that drawer and hopped back over the counter. Welch removed more than $700 from the restaurant’s cash drawers and put the money in the blue and black bag. Welch then left the restaurant and got into the truck with Broyard, who drove out of the parking lot down Panola Road to Flakes Mill Road.

An officer, who was patrolling the area that night, received a radio call from dispatch about the armed robbery at the Burger King around 8:46 p.m. When the officer arrived at the restaurant, he was greeted by a group of employees who were in the restaurant’s parking lot. The employees informed the officer that they had been robbed and that the robber left in a red Ford pickup truck in the direction of Flakes Mill Road. The officer broadcast that information over the radio so that any responding units that were in the area could try to make contact with the suspect. The officer then secured the scene, assisted the manager who had an open wound on his head, and handed witness statement forms to everyone at the scene. The officer then notified the detective division and turned the investigation over to the responding detective.

A police sergeant, who was also in the area that night, heard the radio dispatch about the Burger King robbery. The sergeant headed toward Flakes Mill Road. When he stopped at the intersection of Amsler Road and Flakes Mill Road, a red Ford pickup truck passed by him. The sergeant pulled behind the truck and called in the tag number. The driver then hit the gas, turned left and went up a hill. At the top of the hill the road ended in a gravel driveway that went into the woods.

When the sergeant stopped behind the truck, Broyard and Welch jumped out, turned around and looked at the sergeant. Broyard and Welch then ran down the gravel driveway, and the sergeant followed them and yelled at them to stop. When Broyard stopped, the sergeant [796]*796ordered him to the ground and handcuffed him. The sergeant called dispatch on his phone, and when other officers arrived on the scene, they took Broyard into custody. The sergeant then returned to the truck, which was still running. The doors of the truck were closed, so the sergeant looked through the windows and saw some clothes on the front seat, a blue bag and what looked like the butt of a handgun in the open glove compartment.

The crime scene technician who processed the red pickup truck, found the blue and black b ag containing $749 in cash, the gun and two cell phones. Subsequent investigation also revealed that the cell phone found on the driver’s side belonged to Broyard.2

1. Broyard contends that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support his convictions.

(a) Fleeing or attempting to elude an officer.

With regard to the crime of feeling or attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle,

the relevant statute, OCGA § 40-6-395 (a), provides: [a]ny driver of a vehicle who willfully fails or refuses to bring his vehicle to a stop, or who otherwise flees or attempts to elude a pursuing police vehicle when given a visual or audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Westmoreland v. State, 287 Ga. 688, 692-693 (4) (b) (699 SE2d 13) (2010).

Here, Broyard admitted that, after he and Welch left the Burger King, he “started freaking out” because he heard sirens, Welch had a gun and Welch told him that he had “just robbed the place[.]” Broyard also “hit the gas” when the sergeant pulled behind his truck, and he admittedly jumped out of the truck and ran from the sergeant, even though the sergeant repeatedly ordered him to stop. Accordingly, the evidence was sufficient to support Broyard’s misdemeanor conviction, as the driver of the vehicle, for fleeing an officer. See Dixson v. State, 313 Ga. App. 379, 383-384 (3) (721 SE2d 555) (2011); Tauch v. State, 305 Ga. App. 643, 646 (2) (700 SE2d 645) (2010).

.(b) Armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Aperson commits the offense of armed robbery when, with intent to commit theft, he takes property of another from the person or the [797]*797immediate presence of another by use of an offensive weapon.

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Kevin Broyard v. State
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761 S.E.2d 836 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
755 S.E.2d 36, 325 Ga. App. 794, 2014 Fulton County D. Rep. 408, 2014 WL 658073, 2014 Ga. App. LEXIS 75, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/broyard-v-state-gactapp-2014.