Yarn v. State

826 S.E.2d 1, 305 Ga. 421
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided March 11, 2019·No. S18A1052·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinion

Warren, Justice.

*3**421Deondray Yarn was convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the January 2014 shooting death of Monnie Brabham. On appeal, Yarn contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, that the trial court abused its discretion in granting continuances over Yarn's objections, and that his trial counsel was ineffective in communicating a plea offer to Yarn. Finding no error, we affirm.1

**4221. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdicts, the evidence presented at trial showed that Deondray Yarn, Clifton Roberts, Michael Gooden, Dewayne Seymore, and Ameshia Cosby were members of One-Eight-Trey, a gang affiliated with the Bloods gang. In January 2014, One-Eight-Trey's leader, Kevin Melton, ordered the five members to kidnap LaJerrius Barfield. Barfield had previously been a member of One-Eight-Trey but had defected to start a rival gang, prompting Melton to seek revenge.

On January 23, 2014, the group drove from Atlanta to Houston County to the house of Tianna Maynard, a highly ranked One-Eight-Trey member. Roberts and Gooden had firearms-a pistol and shotgun, respectively. Maynard had contacted Barfield and arranged for him to come to her home as a pretext for the kidnapping. Barfield, unaware of the group's scheme, asked Monnie Brabham to drive him to Maynard's house in Warner Robins. When the group of five was at Maynard's house, they saw Barfield and Brabham arrive and then leave without exiting Brabham's car.

With Roberts driving, the rest of the group followed Barfield and Brabham. They stopped their vehicle behind Brabham's at a gas station where Brabham had gotten out to pump gas. Yarn and Gooden then stepped out of their car, both armed-Yarn with Roberts's handgun, and Gooden with his own shotgun. Gooden approached Brabham, who reached for the shotgun, and they struggled for the weapon until Gooden shot Brabham, who died soon thereafter. Barfield started running away and Yarn fired at him. Barfield fell at one point but managed to escape. The incident was captured on the gas station's surveillance video and was witnessed by others at the scene.

After the shooting, Yarn and Gooden got into Brabham's car and drove it back to Maynard's house. The group searched the car, removing phones that they eventually sold, before abandoning it. They then returned to Atlanta together. On the ride back to Atlanta, Roberts spoke with Melton on the phone and told him what happened. After the shooting, the gang ranks of the five individuals who went to Houston County increased.

**4232. Yarn asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for malice murder, aggravated assault, gang activity, *4and possession of a firearm.2 Specifically, he asserts that the testimony of accomplices who testified against him was, at times, contradictory, and that confidence in the jury's guilty verdict was therefore so eroded that a new trial must be granted. Because the evidence was sufficient to support each of these convictions, and because resolving contradictions in testimony is reserved for the jury, this enumeration fails.

When evaluating a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the verdicts and ask whether any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes of which he was convicted. See Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 318-319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Our review leaves to the jury the resolution of conflicts or inconsistencies in the evidence, credibility of witnesses, and reasonable inferences to be made from the evidence. See id. ; Menzies v. State , 304 Ga. 156, 160, 816 S.E.2d 638 (2018). " 'As long as there is some competent evidence, even though contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State's case, the jury's verdict will be upheld.' " Williams v. State , 287 Ga. 199, 200, 695 S.E.2d 246 (2010) (citation omitted).

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Yarn v. State, 826 S.E.2d 1, 305 Ga. 421 (Ga. 2019).

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