Stubbs v. State

Defense counsel's failure to object to a portion of the state's closing argument in which the prosecutor said that no one in the history of the circuit had ever been wrongly convicted and later released did not constitute ineffective assistance.

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On appeal in Case Number A12A0177 from his conviction for armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, Derrick Stubbs argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for mistrial concerning threats made to a witness. On appeal in Case Numbers A12A0708 and A12A0709 from his conviction arising from the same events, Torrence Haskell argues that trial counsel was ineffective when she failed to object to the State’s argument that no person in the circuit had ever been convicted and later proven innocent. We affirm in all three cases. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, with the defendant no longer enjoying a presumption of innocence.” Reese v. State , 270 Ga. App. 522, 523 607 SE2d 165 2004. We neither weigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses, but determine only whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a “rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307, 319 III B 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

So viewed, the record shows that on the early morning of July 21, 2008, Stubbs and three other people drove to a Sprint convenience store in Thomson. While Patterson and Dickerson waited outside, Stubbs and Haskell ran into the store, where two clerks were working. One of the men had a gun. The armed man jumped over the counter, demanded that the registers be opened, and took cash from both registers. One of the clerks was told to get on the ground and was struck on the head; the other was ordered from the outside of the store, where she had been cleaning, back inside at gunpoint. The robbers also took cartons of Newport cigarettes. Both clerks identified Stubbs and Haskell as their assailants. A store customer witnessed the robbery. Stubbs paid Dickerson $100 from the proceeds of this robbery.

Stubbs v. State

Defense counsel's failure to object to a portion of the state's closing argument in which the prosecutor said that no one in the history of the circuit had ever been wrongly convicted and later released did not constitute ineffective assistance.

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