Stroud v. State

804 S.E.2d 418, 301 Ga. 807, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 690
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedAugust 28, 2017
DocketS17A0709
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 804 S.E.2d 418 (Stroud 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
Stroud v. State, 804 S.E.2d 418, 301 Ga. 807, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 690 (Ga. 2017).

Opinion

GRANT, Justice.

Appellant Shamell A. Stroud was convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the 2010 stabbing death of victim Wayne Jackson. Stroud now appeals, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of prior felonies committed by Stroud; and that his trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance in failing to object to the prior crimes evidence. Finding no error, we affirm.1

[808]*808I.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts, the evidence shows that on the evening of September 29, 2010, Jackson approached Stroud as he sat at a nightclub bar. After talking for some time, the two left together in Jackson’s car, stopped at a different club for a short time, and then drove to Jackson’s apartment.

At 11:31 p.m., the alarm button at Jackson’s apartment was activated. Police arrived to find the front door open and Jackson lying on the floor in a pool of blood next to a bloody kitchen knife. No one else was present in the apartment. There were beer and liquor bottles scattered throughout the apartment, and a male pornographic film was playing in the master bedroom. Blood was observed throughout the apartment, including a large amount in the foyer, more blood drops and stains in the living room and kitchen, and blood spatter on the master bedroom wall and bed. An overturned nightstand, a displaced mattress, and a second knife with its handle missing evidenced a struggle in the bedroom. Jackson had suffered multiple stab wounds to his torso and extremities, including at least one stab wound to the chest, two stab wounds to the back, and various defensive injuries, several which were indicative of efforts to grasp the blade end of a knife. A palm print from the doorknob of the apartment was later matched to that of Stroud’s right palm.

Stroud had fled the scene. He bought a bus ticket to New York but was apprehended during a stop in Norfolk, Virginia, where, following a waiver of his Miranda2 rights, he gave a written statement and submitted to a video-recorded interview. During the interview, Stroud told the investigators that Jackson had falsely told him there was a party at his apartment but that no one else was there when they arrived. Stroud maintained that a friend of Jackson joined them at the apartment; Jackson started taking off his clothes to get “comfortable”; the friend went into the master bedroom, where Jackson had pornography playing on the television; Stroud went in the bedroom; Jackson declared that “this is the party” and began making sexual advances; Stroud became angry; and he and Jackson began to argue and “tussle.” Stroud further maintained that he then retreated to the kitchen; Jackson followed, claiming to have a weapon; Jackson “jumped at” Stroud; Stroud grabbed a knife and stabbed Jackson; Jackson went back to his room; and when Jackson re-emerged, Stroud stabbed him again out of fear that Jackson had retrieved a weapon.

[809]*809At trial, Stroud testified in his own defense. Though continuing to assert that the stabbing had been committed in self-defense, Stroud’s testimony was inconsistent in many respects with his statements to police; among otherthings, Stroud claimed that Jackson had “basically held him hostage” and attacked him with a knife when Stroud had spurned his advances, and that he believed he was fighting for his life when he wrested the knife from Jackson. He conceded that he had lied to investigators about the presence of a third person in the apartment and attributed the discrepancies in his earlier statements to being “so stressed out” at the time of his interview. Contrary to the evidence from Jackson’s autopsy, Stroud testified that he had stabbed Jackson only once in the back and only two times in total. He admitted on cross-examination that he had stepped on Jackson as he lay in the foyer, leaving a footprint on Jackson’s body as he fled the apartment. Stroud was also questioned on both direct and cross-examination about past crimes and acknowledged he had been convicted of felony theft on four prior occasions, beginning in 2003.

Contrary to Stroud’s contention, the evidence described above was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Stroud was guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). This evidence, which included admissions by Stroud himself, established an ongoing altercation during which Stroud stabbed and cut Jackson numerous times with a knife, after which Stroud fled the apartment and left town without seeking help. Stroud’s trial testimony conflicted in various respects with both the medical examiner’s findings and Stroud’s prior oral and written statements to police. Whether the State disproved Stroud’s claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt was a question for the jury, which — particularly given Stroud’s inconsistent accounts and admitted false statements — was authorized to disbelieve his self-defense claim. See Murray v. State, 295 Ga. 289, 292 (1) (759 SE2d 525) (2014); Allen v. State, 290 Ga. 743, 744 (1) (723 SE2d 684) (2012).

II.

Stroud contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of his four felony theft convictions. This evidence — consisting of certified copies of four convictions, two for theft by taking and two for theft by receiving — was introduced during the defense’s case-in-chief. Prior to calling the defense’s first witness, defense counsel — anticipating that Stroud would elect to testify — sought a ruling regarding the admissibility of evidence of his prior convictions. While [810]*810arguing that the convictions were more prejudicial than probative, counsel conceded that, if Stroud were to testify, the court “can’t keep all the convictions out,” and thus urged the court to admit evidence of only “one or two of [them].” The court ruled that, if Stroud were to testify, the two most recent of the prior convictions — both for theft by receiving — would be admissible for impeachment purposes. Defense counsel’s reply was, “[a]ll right.”

The defense first presented three character witnesses, all of whom testified to Stroud’s reputation for “peacefulness.” Stroud then took the stand and, on direct examination, acknowledged his two prior theft-by-receiving convictions. Also during his direct examination, when questioned about whether he had attempted to render aid to the victim, Stroud testified that “if I could have stopped the situation, I would have. I’m a good person, I’m not a bad person.”

At the conclusion of Stroud’s direct examination, the State moved for leave to introduce evidence of the remaining two convictions, on the ground that, by testifying that he was “a good person,” Stroud had placed his character in evidence. Defense counsel essentially conceded the issue, responding, “I’m not going to argue that.” The trial court ruled that the two remaining theft-by-taking convictions would be admissible, and the State offered evidence of all four convictions during its cross-examination of Stroud.

Though Stroud now asserts that the trial court erred in admitting the prior convictions evidence, he is precluded from claiming error by virtue of his acquiescence in the admission of this evidence in the trial court.3

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Lewis v. State
878 S.E.2d 467 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2022)
Ladarious Sherrod v. State
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2020
Kilpatrick v. State
839 S.E.2d 551 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2020)
Ronnie Lee Jones v. State
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2019
Mack v. State
306 Ga. 607 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2019)
David Billy McAllister, Jr. v. State
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2019
McAllister v. State
830 S.E.2d 443 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2019)
Nathan Alan Montgomery v. State
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2019
Montgomery v. State
828 S.E.2d 620 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2019)
Dennard v. State
305 Ga. 463 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2019)
DAVIDSON v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
304 Ga. 460 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018)
Davidson v. State
819 S.E.2d 452 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018)
Stroud v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia, 2017

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
804 S.E.2d 418, 301 Ga. 807, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 690, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stroud-v-state-ga-2017.