Davis v. State

829 S.E.2d 321
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided June 10, 2019·No. S19A0164.; S19A0416.·Published·Cited by 63 cases

Opinion

Bethel, Justice.

*325William Darnell Davis and Trinika Beamon appeal from the trial court's denial of their motions for new trial after a jury found them guilty of felony murder and related crimes in connection with the death of T'arsha Williams and the aggravated assault of Julius Larry.1 In Case S19A0164, Davis argues that the trial court erred in not applying the rule of lenity in sentencing Davis and that his trial counsel was ineffective in numerous regards. In Case S19A0416, Beamon argues that Georgia's felony murder statute is unconstitutional and that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that Davis's and Beamon's contentions are without merit, and we affirm their convictions.

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdicts, the evidence showed that, on November 15, 2014, Williams and Larry went to the Club Rain nightclub in downtown Savannah to celebrate the impending birth of Williams's child. Larry, the surviving victim, testified that both men were carrying a significant amount of cash, which they were "flashing" for others to see. While at the club, they encountered Davis, with whom Larry was familiar through Facebook. Davis, who was at the club with Beamon and their co-defendant Taylor LaCount, told Larry that Beamon and LaCount were interested in having sex with Williams and Larry. Williams and Larry likewise expressed interest in engaging with the women, and Davis instructed Williams and Larry to wait for him and the women outside the club. Beamon and LaCount soon exited the club and began conversing with Williams and Larry; Davis joined them shortly thereafter.2 Davis, Beamon, and LaCount told Williams and Larry that they had to go to one of the women's grandmother's house in west Savannah, so they gave Williams and Larry a phone number to arrange a rendezvous later that night.

In the meantime, Larry and Williams went to a convenience store to buy beer and condoms *326and then to Larry's house to retrieve Larry's pistol because they "knew something was about to happen" and thought they might be robbed. Larry and Williams received a call from LaCount, who instructed Larry and Williams to meet them in west Savannah. When they reached the meet-up location, Davis exited LaCount's truck, which he was driving, and walked over to Larry's car. Davis instructed Williams, who was driving, to follow him around the corner in his car. Both vehicles parked, and Larry moved from the front seat to the back seat of Williams's vehicle. The women exited the truck, but when they reached Williams's car, rather than getting into the vehicle, they turned and ran. At that time, an unidentified, armed man had reached Williams's window and was pointing his gun at Williams. Williams instructed Larry to shoot the man, and Larry began shooting; the unidentified man returned fire. At some point, Williams was shot by the unidentified man. Larry, realizing that Williams was dead, leaned into the front seat and, using his hands to push Williams's foot down on the gas pedal, drove the car away from the scene. Larry crashed the car into a front yard and fled the vehicle on foot.

LaCount entered a guilty plea and testified for the State. She testified that, on the day of the incident, she met Davis for the first time, and they went on a date. Beamon joined them later, and the three went to Club Rain together. While there, they observed Larry and Williams flashing their money, and, when they were leaving the club, Davis indicated that he was planning to rob the two men. The three got into LaCount's truck, with Davis driving, LaCount in the front passenger seat, and Beamon in the back seat. While in the truck, Davis was "plotting and scheming" as to how he would take Williams's money; he asked LaCount to distract Williams and instructed Beamon to follow LaCount. Davis then called an unidentified, armed man and drove to pick him up. The man got in the backseat with Beamon, and Davis continued planning the robbery. Beamon said the robbery was not a good idea, and LaCount agreed with her. When they met back up with Williams and Larry, both Beamon and LaCount exited the truck, as did the unidentified man. Per Davis's instruction, LaCount went toward the front passenger seat, and Beamon went toward the back seat. Both women opened the car's doors to get inside, but neither had a chance to get in the car. The unidentified man, pursuant to Davis's instruction, had reached the driver's side of Williams's car, and LaCount heard Williams tell Larry to shoot the man. When Larry started shooting, everyone scattered.

Beamon and Davis pursued the same defense at trial: both disclaimed any knowledge of the planning of the crime and sought to pin the blame on LaCount. Davis testified in his own defense. He testified that, after leaving the club, he drove to his sister's house so that he could use her bathroom. He and Beamon went inside the home, and, when they came out, they found LaCount talking to two unidentified men who asked Davis to take them to the store. LaCount directed Davis where to drive but said she needed to make another stop before going to the store. When they reached LaCount's destination, they stopped for several minutes until Williams's car pulled up. Then, LaCount, Beamon, and the two men exited the vehicle. Davis heard gunshots and saw LaCount, Beamon, and the men start to run, so he put the car in drive and pulled off. Davis denied seeing that either man was armed and denied planning the robbery, as LaCount testified. Beamon did not testify.

Although only Beamon challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her convictions, we have reviewed the evidence in regard to both appellants and conclude that the evidence recounted above was sufficient to authorize a rational jury to find both Davis and Beamon guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on each of the counts of which they were convicted. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). See also OCGA § 16-2-20 (parties to a crime).

Case S19A0164

2. Davis contends that the trial court erred in failing to apply the rule of lenity when sentencing him. Specifically, Davis argues that the trial court was obligated, pursuant to the rule of lenity, to sentence him for aggravated assault with intent to rob *327rather than criminal attempt to commit armed robbery. This argument rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of the proper application of the rule of lenity as raised here and thus fails.

As we recently explained in State v. Hanna , 305 Ga. 100, 105 (2), 823 S.E.2d 785 (2019) :

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Davis v. State, 829 S.E.2d 321 (Ga. 2019).

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