Walter Holder v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided November 27, 2012·No. A12A0965·Published

Opinion

FIRST DIVISION

ELLINGTON, C. J.,

PHIPPS, P. J., and DILLARD, J.

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/

November 27, 2012

In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A12A0965. HOLDER v. THE STATE. PH-037 C

PHIPPS, Presiding Judge.

Walter James Holder was convicted of burglary,1 four counts of kidnapping,2 four counts of armed robbery,3 and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.4 On appeal, Holder contends that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred in its charge to the jury; and (3) he

1 OCGA § 16-7-1 (a) (We apply the 2010 version of OCGA § 16-7-1, in effect at the time of the crime; OCGA § 16-7-1 was amended, “effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2012, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense. . . .”; Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, 949, § § 3-1, 9-1).

2 OCGA § 16-5-40 (a).

3 OCGA § 16-8-41 (a).

4 OCGA § 16-11-106 (b).

received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Because we find that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction on one of the kidnapping counts, we reverse that conviction. We affirm the convictions on the remaining counts.

1. When an appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction, “the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” 5 So viewed, the evidence showed that for about two weeks before March 28, 2005, Holder had discussions with Antoine Strickland and Douglas Taylor about robbing Justin Patterson; it was rumored that Patterson had been showing off large amounts of money. Strickland and Taylor lived together. On March 28, 2005, Strickland picked up Holder and brought him back to his and Taylor’s residence. From there, Strickland called Patterson and arranged a meeting at a gas station to conduct a marijuana sale. But the true purpose of the meeting was to determine where Patterson lived.

5 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 319 (III) (B) (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560)

(1979) (citation and emphasis omitted).

Holder (by himself) drove Taylor’s vehicle and met Patterson and Eric Gillespie at the gas station. Patterson walked over to the vehicle Holder drove, and conducted the drug transaction; afterwards, Patterson and Gillespie went back to Gillespie’s residence, and Holder followed them there, went inside with them, and smoked marijuana with them. Ten minutes later, Holder left and went back and indicated to Taylor that he had learned where Patterson would be that night. Holder, Strickland, Taylor, and a fourth individual went shopping for bandanas and duct tape; they already had a pistol, and, while they were out they also acquired a shotgun.6 After Holder had left Gillespie’s residence, the following individuals remained at the residence: Gillespie, Patterson, Roneisa Brown (Gillespie’s girlfriend) , and Stephanie Johnson (Patterson’s girlfriend). Brown had fallen asleep in a bedroom; Patterson and Johnson were in another bedroom. Gillespie, who had gone to bed, got back up, and while he was in the living room, he noticed someone walk by a window. The door was then kicked open, and a masked assailant put a shotgun to Gillespie’s head.

Four masked assailants entered the residence; they wore bandanas over their faces. Gillespie was made to sit down on a chair in the living room; his head was

6 A fifth individual joined the group at some point.

duct-taped and his hands were taped together. A gun was held to his neck at all times. An assailant armed with a gun forced Brown out of the bedroom where she had been sleeping and to the living room, where he began taping Brown’s face. Two armed assailants moved Patterson from a bedroom to the living room; they duct-taped his hands, feet, and head. The assailants moved Johnson from the bedroom to the living room, where they duct-taped her hands, legs, and eyes.

Once all of the victims were restrained in the living room, the assailants ransacked the house. They took money and/or property from all four victims. They took Brown’s purse and money, but later returned them to her.

Patterson testified that one of the assailants wore a distinctive shirt that looked like the one Holder was wearing when Patterson had met him (Holder) at the gas station earlier that evening. The next day a law enforcement officer recovered a similar shirt during a search of Strickland’s residence (which was where the assailants had gone after the crimes).

Strickland and Taylor testified that Holder had entered the residence and had participated in the planning and commission of the crimes. Holder’s mother testified, however, that on March 28, 2005, Holder resided at her home, and he did not leave the house that evening.

(a) Holder contends that there was insufficient evidence of asportation to support the four kidnapping convictions. Citing Garza v. State,7 he argues that the movement of the victims did not establish asportation.

Garza was decided after the crimes were committed in this case and after Holder was convicted, but while the case was pending appeal. Thus, according to the “pipeline” rule, Garza applies to this case.8 “A person commits the offense of kidnapping when such person abducts or steals away another person without lawful authority or warrant and holds such other person against his or her will.”9 To support a kidnapping conviction, the state must show that an unlawful movement, or asportation, of the victim has occurred against his or her will.10

7 284 Ga. 696 (670 SE2d 73) (2008).

8 Hammond v. State, 289 Ga. 142, 143-144 (710 SE2d 124) (2011) (following Garza, the legislature amended the kidnapping provision in OCGA § 16-5-40 to clarify the asportation requirement, but the amendment applies only to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2009); Patterson v. State, 312 Ga. App. 793, 795 (1) (720 SE2d 278) (2011).

9 OCGA § 16-5-40 (a).

10 Ellis v. State, 282 Ga. App. 17, 20 (1) (637 SE2d 729) (2006).

Garza sets out four factors that should be considered in determining whether the asportation element of kidnapping is met: (1) the duration of the movement; (2) whether the movement occurred during the commission of a separate offense; (3) whether such movement was an inherent part of that separate offense; and (4) whether the movement itself presented a significant danger to the victim independent of the danger posed by the separate offense.11 However, in cases where the Garza standard is applicable, the Supreme Court of Georgia has not required the satisfaction of all four factors to establish that asportation occurred.12

Under Garza, even when the movement is of minimal duration and occurs before or during the commission of other offenses, asportation has been satisfied where the movement is not an inherent part of any other offense, and the movement creates an additional danger to the victims by enhancing the control of the perpetrators.13

As to the kidnapping counts concerning Patterson, Johnson, and Brown, those individuals were removed from bedrooms of the residence and taken to the living

11 Garza, supra at 702 (1).

12 Hammond, supra at 144 (2).

13 Onumah v. State, 313 Ga. App. 269, 270 (2) (721 SE2d 115) (2011) (citation and punctuation omitted).

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