Miller v. State

824 S.E.2d 342
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 18, 2019
DocketS18A1519
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 824 S.E.2d 342 (Miller 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
Miller v. State, 824 S.E.2d 342 (Ga. 2019).

Opinion

Peterson, Justice.

Frank Miller appeals his convictions for malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of false imprisonment in connection with the shooting death of his daughter, Colleen Miller Grant, and an attack on Grant's grandson, Sawyer Dockery.1 Miller contests the sufficiency of the evidence to convict him of the aggravated assault of *344Dockery and both counts of false imprisonment. Miller also argues that his conviction for the aggravated assault of Grant should have merged with his conviction for the malice murder of Grant and that the defective indictment violated his due process rights. We conclude that the challenge to the indictment was not preserved, his conviction for the aggravated assault of Grant does not merge with the malice murder conviction, and the evidence is sufficient to support all of Miller's convictions except the two counts of false imprisonment. As such, we reverse Miller's convictions for false imprisonment, and affirm on all other counts.

The trial evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts showed that on August 31, 2013, Dockery and Grant (Dockery's grandmother) went to the home of Miller, where they were staying. Upon arrival, Dockery entered the house while Grant stayed outside. Dockery encountered Miller, who was naked from the waist down and carrying a handgun. Miller threatened to kill Dockery, prompting Dockery to run out of the house to get Grant.

Grant and Dockery returned to the home and Grant tried to reason with Miller, who was very drunk and belligerent. Miller grabbed Grant by the hair and punched her in the face multiple times. Afterwards, Grant went upstairs to take a bath, and Dockery, who was scared, went upstairs to the guest bedroom and fell asleep.

Sometime after midnight, Grant went to wake up Dockery, was "freaking out," and told him to get dressed. They then ran into Grant's room. Grant called 911, telling the dispatcher that police needed to hurry and that Miller had a gun. Grant and Dockery braced themselves against the bedroom door to keep it closed. Miller began banging on the door while Grant and Dockery struggled to keep it closed.

Miller then shot through the door multiple times. One bullet struck Dockery in the leg. Dockery, afraid of being shot again, retreated from the door, pulling Grant into the bedroom closet. Miller then entered the room asking, "Where are you, b**ch?" Grant told Dockery to remain hidden in the closet before exiting to confront Miller.

As soon as Grant left the closet, Miller shot her. As she lay on the floor, Miller reloaded his gun and shot her five more times. Miller asked something along the lines of, "Why'd you make me do this" or "Why did you push me this far[?]"

Meanwhile, Dockery retreated further into the closet and hid behind some hanging dresses, covering his lower body with shoes and a suitcase. Miller sat on Grant's bed, peering into the closet, trying to coax Dockery out. Dockery did not respond and did not move. Eventually, Miller left and went back downstairs, and Dockery was able to sneak out of the house and meet the police outside.

While alone in an interrogation room after being taken into custody, Miller said something along the lines of, "I guess I shouldn't have shot her that last time through the head and brain."

1. Miller challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to convict him of aggravated assault against Dockery as charged and false imprisonment against both Grant and Dockery. We agree that the evidence was insufficient to find Miller guilty of false imprisonment, but conclude that the evidence is sufficient to sustain all of his other convictions.

It is not for this Court to resolve conflicts in evidence, determine the credibility of witnesses, weigh the evidence, or assess questions of justification; those matters are left firmly within the province of the jury. See OCGA § 24-6-620 ; Walker v. State, 296 Ga. 161, 163 (1), 766 S.E.2d 28 (2014) ; Harris v. State, 279 Ga. 304, 306 (2), 612 S.E.2d 789 (2005). Instead, this Court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the verdict. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

(a) Miller argues that he could not have falsely imprisoned Dockery and Grant in the bedroom because they both entered the room of their own volition. We agree. "A person commits the offense of false imprisonment when, in violation of the personal liberty of another, he arrests, confines, or detains such person without legal authority." OCGA § 16-5-41 (a). At no point did Miller arrest, confine, or detain either Dockery or Grant.

*345Rather, Dockery and Grant chose to flee into Grant's bedroom and barricade themselves there, trying to keep Miller out of the room. This will not sustain Miller's two convictions for false imprisonment, and we reverse these convictions. See Cunningham v. State, 304 Ga. 789, 791-92 (1), 822 S.E.2d 281 (2018) (evidence insufficient to sustain convictions for false imprisonment where the victims chose to barricade themselves and their children into a room to keep the perpetrators out); Harris v. State, 304 Ga. 276, 279 (1), 818 S.E.2d 530 (2018) (same).

(b) Miller contends that the inclusion of the word "knowingly" in the indictment for aggravated assault against Dockery renders the evidence insufficient to sustain his conviction. We disagree. When we review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we will affirm when "any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
824 S.E.2d 342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-state-ga-2019.