Steve Huff v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: August 20, 2012
• Docket: A12A0972
• Status: Published

Opinion

SECOND DIVISION BARNES, P. J., ADAMS and MCFADDEN, JJ.

NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. (Court of Appeals Rule 4 (b) and Rule 37 (b), February 21, 2008) http://www.gaappeals.us/rules/

August 20, 2012

In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A12A0972. HUFF v. THE STATE

ADAMS, Judge.

After a trial by jury, Steve Huff was convicted of misdemeanor obstruction of

an officer and pedestrian under the influence of alcohol. He challenges the sufficiency

of the evidence. He contends there were inconsistencies in the testimony of one

officer that provide reasonable doubt about whether he obstructed the officer.

We review the case “under the standard espoused in Jackson v. Virginia, 443

U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979) to determine if the evidence, when

viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, supports the verdict.” (Citation

omitted.) Mack v. State, 272 Ga. 415, 416-417 (1) (529 SE2d 132) (2000).

The testimony at trial shows that at about 8:00 p.m. on July 30, 2010 two

deputies with the McDuffie County Sheriff’s office received a call that an unwanted person was at a store in McDuffie County. When the uniformed officers arrived, Huff

walked out from behind the store carrying a golf club and a bag of food, and he

appeared to be intoxicated. When the deputies identified themselves and repeatedly

told Huff to drop the club for the purpose of officer safety, he refused. The deputies

then pulled out their Taser weapons, and Huff dropped the club. The deputies then

approached him to ask about his presence at the store, and in response, Huff became

agitated and spit turkey and collard greens onto one deputy, which, the deputy

testified, “covered me from my waist down to my feet.” The officers told him that he

was going to be arrested, and Huff resisted by not allowing the officers to put

handcuffs on him. That led to a “tussle” where the officers got Huff to the ground,

where he further resisted getting handcuffed, until eventually, the officers were able

to secure the handcuffs. Huff would not get up on his own, and the officers picked

him up to place him in the patrol car.

OCGA § 16–10–24 (a) provides that “a person who knowingly and willfully

obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official

duties is guilty of a misdemeanor.” Here, the jury was authorized to find that Huff

obstructed the officers in several ways. Huff placed the officers at risk of harm by

refusing to drop the golf club when requested. See, e.g., Timberlake v. State, _ Ga.

2 App. _ (1) (Case No. A12A0605, decided April 19, 2012) (placing officer’s safety at

risk is evidence of obstruction). Huff spit food on the officer. See, e.g., Gordon v.

State, 199 Ga. App. 704, 705 (2) (406 SE2d 110) (1991) (“The jury was authorized

to find that defendant’s spitting on the officer while refusing to identify himself was

not merely discourteous, it actually hindered and obstructed [the] [o]fficer ... in the

discharge of his official duties.”) (punctuation omitted); Williams v. State, 307 Ga.

App. 675, 680 (705 SE2d 906) (2011) (attempt to spit in officer’s face was evidence

of obstruction). And Huff resisted being handcuffed. See, e.g., Pearson v. State, 224

Ga. App. 467, 469 (2) (480 SE2d 911) (1997).

Judgment affirmed. Barnes, P. J., and McFadden, J., concur.