Pena v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions for malice murder and related crimes, as the jury was entitled to reject his self-defense claim.

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Flavio Garay Pena was convicted of malice murder and related crimes in connection with the death of Jose David Cruz Hernandez. Pena appeals the denial of his amended motion for new trial, contending that the evidence was insufficient for a jury to find him guilty; the trial court erred in refusing to strike a juror for cause, denying his motion to exclude his custodial statement, excluding certain testimony, and giving an improper jury charge; and his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Finding no error, we affirm.1

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the evidence adduced at trial established as follows. At approximately 3:30 a.m. on the morning of November 4, 2007, Gwinnett County police responded to a call about a fight in the Arnold Road area and encountered Pena and another man walking down the road. The officers observed that the bottoms of both legs on Pena’s jeans were “completely encircled” with blood and that he had blood on the top of his work boots. Pena told the officers that he was “fighting a friend,” the friend made him mad, and he “kicked his a.” When one of the officers asked Pena if he used any weapons on his friend, Pena responded that he did not need any weapons, and he started to laugh and pointed at his bloodied boots. During this time, Pena never indicated to the officers that he was frightened of this friend or that this friend had attacked him. Officers arrested Pena for disorderly conduct. Additionally, neither the officers who encountered Pena on the road nor the officer who booked him into the detention center noticed any injuries on him, and Pena did not indicate that he had been injured. Later that same day, officers discovered the deceased victim, subsequently identified as Jose David Cruz Hernandez, lying face down in a drainage ditch near Arnold Road. The victim’s face appeared to have been pushed or driven into the ground, a large area of pooling blood surrounded his head and upper torso, and there was blood spatter on the grass and road near the victim’s body.

Pena v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions for malice murder and related crimes, as the jury was entitled to reject his self-defense claim.

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