Hughey v. State

Michael Hughey was convicted of criminal attempt to commit malice murder,1 aggravated assault on a police officer,2 possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony3 two counts, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.4 Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Hughey appeals, contending that 1 his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the trial court’s jury charge on implied malice, and 2 absent the erroneous jury instruction, the evidence was insufficient to support the guilty verdict. Discerning no error, we affirm.

Construed in favor of the verdict,5 the record shows that in August 2011, a DeKalb County police officer executed a traffic stop of a vehicle because it lacked working tail lights. The officer approached the vehicle and requested identification from the driver and passenger. Hughey, the passenger, explained that he did not have identification but gave the officer his name and date of birth. The officer requested that the two occupants remain in the vehicle while he returned to his police cruiser to check for open warrants. During this process, Hughey kept opening his door and getting out of the car, against the officer’s repeated requests that he remain inside his vehicle. Finally, as the officer received information that Hughey had an open warrant for his arrest, Hughey exited the vehicle, looked at the driver, looked at the officer, said, Hey, I got to do it man, and took off running across the road. The officer pursued and drew his taser. As the officer closed the distance during the chase, Hughey stopped, turned, and pointed a 9 millimeter handgun at the officer. The officer stopped less than three feet from Hughey, who told the officer, You better back your ass up. As the officer dropped the taser and reached for his service weapon, Hughey shot the officer, hitting him in the side of his chest in a gap in his protective vest. The officer returned fire, shooting two or three rounds, and Hughey again fled as the officer walked back to his police car to summon help. The officer later made a full recovery.