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Heard v. State

The trial court did not violate the defendant's right to be present during all critical stages of his trial for armed robbery, burglary and a weapons charge, because the procedural and scheduling conferences held outside his presence were not critical proceedings.

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A jury convicted Antonio Heard of armed robbery, burglary, and a weapons charge following a home invasion. The trial court sentenced him to 35 years, with the first 15 to be served in custody, and denied Heard’s motion for new trial. On appeal, Heard contends that the evidence was insufficient, that the trial court should have exercised its discretion and granted him a new trial, that the trial court erred in limiting the testimony of the officer who took Heard’s statement and in admitting evidence of Heard’s prior conviction, that his trial counsel was ineffective, and that he was denied his right to be present at all court proceedings. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

1. On appeal, we view the trial evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Peoples v. State, 295 Ga. 44, 45 1 757 SE2d 646 2014. So viewed, the evidence shows that the two victims were asleep in their living room when they woke up to find two men holding guns to their heads. Neither victim was able to see either gunman’s face and did not recognize their voices, which were disguised. They heard a third person ransacking the rest of the house, and one of the gunmen said the other men came to kill. The intruders repeatedly asked where the victims’ money and drugs were located, and one ripped the male victim’s pants off and took $1,500 from the pockets. Another gunman took the female victim’s cell phone, and then the three intruders left through the front door.

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