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Brittain v. State

The trial court had ample evidence to support its finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant had procured the victim's absence for purposes of preventing her testimony, thus the trial court properly admitted the victim's testimonial and non-testimonial statements pursuant to the doctrine of forfeiture-by-wrongdoing.

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Following a trial by jury, Elijah Ames Brittain was convicted of aggravated assault, kidnaping, and burglary. Brittain appeals these convictions, contending that the trial court erred by 1 denying a motion to complete the record, 2 admitting hearsay evidence under the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing, 3 permitting similar-transaction evidence, and 4 denying his motion for new trial when he received ineffective assistance of counsel in numerous regards. For the reasons set forth infra, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s guilty verdict,1 the record reflects that on May 26, 2007, the victim, Chastity Jones, was asleep in her Clayton County house with only her infant daughter at home when she suddenly awoke around 4:00 a.m. to find Brittain in her bedroom. Her husband, Brutus, had left the home earlier in the evening but had not yet returned. Brittain was acquainted with both Jones and Brutus because Brutus was a member of Brittain’s restaurant-robbery crew.

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