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Tolbert v. State

The defendant failed to show that trial counsel's theoretical division of loyalties based on his concurrent representation of the defendant and a co-defendant ripened into an actual conflict of interest that significantly and adversely affected the adequacy of the lawyer's representation of him at trial.

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Terry Gene Tolbert was tried by a Richmond County jury and convicted of murder and the unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, both in connection with the fatal shooting of Shelley Griffin. Tolbert appeals, contending only that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Upon our review of the record and briefs, we see no error, and we affirm.1

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Leroy Sims and Dewey Sims are brothers, and Tolbert is their nephew. On January 26, 1996, following the execution of a search warrant at the residence at which Griffin lived, Griffin confronted Leroy, threatened him, and said that both Leroy and Dewey were snitches. Griffin retrieved a pistol and then returned to complain more about the search. At that point, Dewey and Tolbert arrived at the scene, both carrying guns. Dewey and Tolbert joined Leroy, and all three quickly approached Griffin. Griffin gave his gun to a friend and urged Leroy, Dewey, and Tolbert not to use guns, but instead to fight like a man. According to an eyewitness, Tolbert told Griffin: Don’t move, don’t move, or I’m going to bust you. At some later point, Tolbert said: Okay, you know. We ain’t going to do nothing like that. Leroy then told Dewey to do it — or something along those lines — and Dewey then pointed a gun at Griffin and shot him in the head, killing him. Dewey, Leroy, and Tolbert then fled together. Although Tolbert does not dispute the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we have reviewed the entire record, and we conclude that the evidence adduced at trial was legally sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Tolbert is guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted.2 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 319 III B 99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

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