Felton v. State

657 S.E.2d 850, 283 Ga. 242, 8 Fulton County D. Rep. 557, 2008 Ga. LEXIS 191, 8 FCDR 557
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 25, 2008
DocketS07A1439
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 657 S.E.2d 850 (Felton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Felton v. State, 657 S.E.2d 850, 283 Ga. 242, 8 Fulton County D. Rep. 557, 2008 Ga. LEXIS 191, 8 FCDR 557 (Ga. 2008).

Opinion

HINES, Justice.

Dion N. Felton appeals his convictions for malice murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the death of Elizabeth Davidson, the shooting of Diana Lynn Salyers, and the assault, by a pistol, of Frances J. Ryan. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.1

Construed to support the verdicts, the evidence showed that Felton, aged 16, along with Shawn Hightower, Eric Jackson, Jarvis Wimberly, and Cedric Poole, was at a bar known as the Fast Track Lounge. Shortly after midnight, two men, considered by Felton and his friends to be gay, angered Felton by looking at him in what Felton believed was a sexual manner. Felton confronted the men verbally, and the two men left the Fast Track. Felton and his companions went into the street, and Felton told his companions that he wanted a fashion chain one of the two other men wore. The two targeted men went into another nearby bar, the Pegasus Lounge, and Felton and his companions followed.

[243]*243Several patrons of the Pegasus Lounge testified that four men came into the lounge and became disruptive, throwing coins on a pool table while a game was in progress and getting into a verbal altercation with lounge patrons; one of the men pointed a pistol at Ryan. None of these witnesses identified Felton as one of the four, but all testified that of the men who entered, the one wearing a red bandanna argued with Ryan, and pointed a pistol at her. The man did not fire, but left the establishment. An hour and a half later, two of the men returned to the Pegasus Lounge, and according to witnesses, the same man who had earlier pointed the pistol at Ryan, still wearing the red bandanna, began shooting, hitting Diana Salyers and Elizabeth Davidson; Salyers survived, but Davidson did not. The shooter’s companion was wearing a dark blue bandanna.

A few hours after the shooting, investigating police officers received information that caused them to go to Felton’s home. There, Felton’s father said that Felton had been out the night before and often wore a red bandanna, and gave the officers permission to interview Felton. Felton gave his bandanna to an officer and stated that he had worn it the previous night. Felton went to the police station, where he recounted that: he, Hightower, Poole, Wimberly, and Jackson2 were at the Fast Track Lounge; a gay man looked at Hightower; Hightower chased the gay man out of the Fast Track; Felton and the others went to the Pegasus Lounge; Hightower threw coins on a pool table, interrupting the game; Hightower spat into a patron’s beer; they were asked to leave, and did so; Hightower said “I ain’t going to let that go like that”; all the men returned to the Pegasus Lounge; Hightower covered his face with his blue bandanna; High-tower cocked a pistol that he had been given by Jackson, and Felton said “don’t do it”; Hightower told Felton to move or be shot; Felton moved, and Hightower fired eight shots; Felton ran outside, where the group gathered again; Hightower gave the pistol to Jackson; Wimberly said “you better be glad she ain’t dead”; Hightower replied “if she’s dead, she’s just dead”; and, Felton told Hightower he wanted a gold chain the gay man was wearing.

Hightower testified in the State’s case-in-chief that: when the men first went into the Pegasus Lounge, Felton spat into a patron’s beer and threw coins on a pool table to disrupt the game; when confronted by a patron of the lounge, Felton drew a pistol and “started pointing it around”; Hightower took the pistol and told Felton they should leave; the group left, and returned to the Fast Track, where Hightower gave the pistol to Jackson, who later returned it to Hightower, who hid it; Felton spoke of returning to the Pegasus [244]*244Lounge to beat a patron who had confronted him; Felton retrieved the pistol from the known hiding place and said he would return to the Pegasus Lounge to beat the patron; Felton walked to the Pegasus Lounge with Hightower and Wimberly; when Felton entered the Pegasus Lounge, Hightower had only reached the entrance, with Wimberly behind him; Hightower ran when Felton began firing the pistol; Hightower, Felton, and Wimberly rejoined Jackson, who took the pistol from Felton; Felton said that he had “shot the club up”; Felton wore a red bandanna during the crimes; and, Hightower wore a dark blue bandanna.

Jackson testified for the State that: prior to first going into the Pegasus Lounge, Felton declared his intention to “shoot the place up,” “scare them up,” and take a necklace; Hightower and Felton requested Jackson’s pistol; he gave his pistol to Hightower, who gave it to Felton; Jackson went to a telephone while the others walked in the direction of the Pegasus Lounge; after his telephone call, Jackson heard gunshots; Felton and Hightower were yelling “I did it, I did it, I did it”; Hightower handed Jackson his pistol; Jackson later threw the pistol into a river; and, Felton wore a red bandanna while Hightower wore a dark blue bandanna.

Felton presented two witnesses, Wimberly and Poole. Wimberly testified that: at the Fast Track, Felton said he wanted to take a chain from a gay man; Felton said he wanted to go into the Pegasus Lounge and shoot a pistol to scare the patrons; Hightower said not to do so; Hightower, Felton, and Jackson were “passing [the pistol] around”; Hightower gave Felton the pistol; Wimberly did not enter the Pegasus Lounge; before entering the Pegasus Lounge, Hightower had the pistol; after exiting the Pegasus Lounge, Hightower had the pistol; and, prior to Felton and Hightower entering the Pegasus Lounge, Felton, Hightower, Jackson, and Wimberly traded hats, coats, and bandannas.

Poole testified that: Felton said he wanted to get a necklace from a gay man; outside the Pegasus Lounge, Jackson gave Hightower the pistol; Hightower and Felton entered the Pegasus Lounge; Poole did not enter the Pegasus Lounge; he heard some shots; Felton and Hightower exited the Pegasus Lounge; Hightower returned the pistol to Jackson; the men gave back to each other articles of clothing they had borrowed from one another, Hightower returning to Felton his red bandanna; Felton said that he wanted to fight somebody; before going into the Pegasus Lounge, Felton spoke of “shooting up the place”; Poole commonly told people that Felton was his cousin; and, Felton was “like a cousin” to him.

[245]*2451. The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Felton guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes of which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

2. Felton claims that trial counsel failed in several respects to provide effective representation. In order to prevail on this claim, Felton must show both that counsel’s performance was deficient, and that the deficient performance was prejudicial to his defense. Smith v. Francis, 253 Ga. 782, 783 (1) (325 SE2d 362) (1985), citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668 (104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984). To meet the first prong of the required test, the defendant must overcome the “strong presumption” that counsel’s performance fell within a “wide range of reasonable professional conduct,” and that counsel’s decisions were “made in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment.” Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
657 S.E.2d 850, 283 Ga. 242, 8 Fulton County D. Rep. 557, 2008 Ga. LEXIS 191, 8 FCDR 557, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/felton-v-state-ga-2008.