Rutledge v. State

515 S.E.2d 1, 237 Ga. App. 391, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 1401, 1999 Ga. App. LEXIS 368
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 15, 1999
DocketA98A1670
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 515 S.E.2d 1 (Rutledge 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
Rutledge v. State, 515 S.E.2d 1, 237 Ga. App. 391, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 1401, 1999 Ga. App. LEXIS 368 (Ga. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

515 S.E.2d 1 (1999)
237 Ga. App. 391

RUTLEDGE
v.
The STATE.

No. A98A1670.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 15, 1999.
Reconsideration Denied March 31, 1999.
Certiorari Denied September 10, 1999.

*3 Sonya C. Popken, for appellant.

Kelly R. Burke, District Attorney, A. James Rockefeller, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

*2 RUFFIN, Judge.

A jury found Bobby Rutledge guilty of armed robbery and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. Pursuant to OCGA § 17-10-7(b)(2), the trial court sentenced Rutledge to life imprisonment without parole on the first count and five years on the second count, to be served consecutively. Rutledge appeals, asserting numerous grounds. For reasons which follow, we affirm.

1. Rutledge first challenges the trial court's denial of his motion for directed verdict based upon the insufficiency of the evidence.

The standard of review for the denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is the same as that for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction. To sustain the conviction, the evidence must be sufficient to authorize the jury's finding of the defendant's guilt of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Cantrell v. State, 230 Ga.App. 693, 694-695(1), 498 S.E.2d 90 (1998).

[O]n an appeal following a conviction, the evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, and appellant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, on appeal this Court determines evidence sufficiency, and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility.

(Punctuation omitted.) Webb v. State, 228 Ga.App. 624, 625(2), 492 S.E.2d 312 (1997); see also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence demonstrates that on January 26, 1997, a man wearing a tan, fleece-lined coat and a dark cap entered a BP Station in Warner Robins, approached the cashier, April Kroger, and asked for a pack of cigarettes. As Kroger reached for the cigarettes, the man came toward her with an "unfolded" knife and told her "not to try anything." He took money from the cash register and left the store. As the man fled, Kroger noticed that he ran with a limp. The in-store security camera captured the crime on film, and a composite of still photographs from the tape was introduced into evidence.

Rutledge's sister, Celestine Brown, testified that the day before the crime was committed, she had given Rutledge "a brown jacket with some white in the collar" and a black hood. Although the quality of the videotape from the in-store camera was poor, Brown was able to identify the man in the pictures as her brother, based upon his clothing and a partial view of his face. Brown further acknowledged that on the night of January 26, her brother showed up at her house with approximately $500 in cash and told her he had taken something that did not belong to him.

Rutledge's cousin, Dolly Turner, testified that a nervous Rutledge came to her house the evening of January 26 wearing a brown jacket and a black hood. Rutledge gave Turner the coat and hood and a knife and asked her to throw them in the trash. Turner threw away the knife, but she kept the coat and the hood until she handed them over to the police. Kroger testified that the coat Turner gave to the police was the same coat worn by the person who had robbed her at knifepoint.

*4 After meeting with Rutledge, Officer McSwain, who investigated the crime, confirmed that Rutledge, like the perpetrator, walked with a limp.

Despite ample evidence linking him to the crime, Rutledge argues that this is a case of mistaken identification. To support his position, he points to conflicts in the evidence, including (1) Kroger's equivocation in identifying him from the "mug books"; (2) a dispute regarding the amount of money taken from the gas station; and (3) the type of knife used in the robbery. However, it is the function of the jury to resolve conflicts in the evidence. Kapua v. State, 228 Ga.App. 193, 195, 491 S.E.2d 387 (1997). Since there was ample evidence from which the jury could have concluded that it was Rutledge who committed the robbery through the use of a knife, "[w]e ... conclude that the evidence, construed in a light most favorable to support the verdict, was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find [Rutledge] guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of both offenses. [See OCGA §§ 16-8-41 and XX-XX-XXX.]" Abrams v. State, 229 Ga.App. 152, 154(3), 493 S.E.2d 561 (1997).

2. Rutledge asserts that his motion for new trial should have been granted because his trial counsel was ineffective. After conducting a hearing on the issue, the trial court concluded that Rutledge received effective assistance of counsel at trial. "A trial court's finding that a defendant has been afforded effective assistance of counsel must be upheld unless that finding is clearly erroneous." (Punctuation omitted.) Hassan v. State, 231 Ga.App. 783, 784(1), 500 S.E.2d 644 (1998).

To establish a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Rutledge

must show that his counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficient performance was prejudicial to his defense. To meet the first prong of this test, a 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. The reasonableness of counsel's conduct is examined from counsel's perspective at the time of trial and under the circumstances of the case. The second prong requires the defendant to show there is a reasonable probability that, absent counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the trial would have been different.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Brown v. State, 268 Ga. 354, 357(4), 490 S.E.2d 75 (1997). Here, the trial court was authorized to find that Rutledge received effective assistance of counsel at trial.

Rutledge contends that his attorney failed to call certain witnesses, did not confer with him regarding jury selection, and failed to question a witness about another possible suspect. However, all of Rutledge's "claims of ineffectiveness are grounded in matters of trial tactics and strategy and do not provide a basis for finding counsel lacking. Such tactical decisions do not equate with ineffective assistance of counsel." Harper v. State, 232 Ga.App. 224, 227(2)(d), 501 S.E.2d 591 (1998). Contrary to Rutledge's contentions, his attorney testified that he did confer with his client about the case and that the decision not to call witnesses was made because the witnesses either knew nothing about the case or could not be located.

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Bluebook (online)
515 S.E.2d 1, 237 Ga. App. 391, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 1401, 1999 Ga. App. LEXIS 368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rutledge-v-state-gactapp-1999.