Mitchell v. State

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of a separate armed robbery in which the defendant was not implicated, as it explained the genesis and motive of the robbery at issue.

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Following a jury trial, Elliott Mitchell appeals from his conviction of armed robbery,1 kidnapping,2 possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime,3 and aggravated assault.4 Mitchell contends that 1 the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, 2 he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and 3 the trial court erred by admitting irrelevant evidence. Finding no error, we affirm. Construed in favor of the verdict,5 the evidence shows that Terrence Reid, Shannon Clay, and some friends drove from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Atlanta to purchase illegal drugs from Clay’s friends and to shop. Clay arranged a meeting with her friends, and Reid accompanied her with $10,000 in cash, believing that he was going to purchase drugs. When Reid and Clay arrived at the meeting spot, the purported sellers had already left, so Reid and Clay browsed in a nearby jewelry store. Reid left $8,000 of his cash in the trunk of the car. As Reid looked at the jewelry, Clay was on her telephone, pacing the floor and going in and out of the store. Soon Reid noticed that Clay had not returned to the store, so he went to the car, where he discovered that his money was gone from the trunk.

Five or ten minutes later, Clay returned to the car with her friends in a truck and introduced Reid. As Reid approached the truck, Mitchell, who was armed with an automatic pistol and hiding in the back seat, rose up and forced Reid into the truck. Once Reid was in the back seat, Mitchell ordered Reid to remove his jewelry and empty his pockets. As the driver drove off, Reid attempted to jump out of the door, and Mitchell hit him in the head with the butt of the pistol, causing the gun to fire and shatter the truck’s window. The stray bullet hit bystander Shelly Williams, permanently paralyzing her from the waist down. The driver sped off, and Reid managed to leap from the vehicle as Mitchell shot at Reid while he tumbled onto the ground.

Mitchell v. State

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of a separate armed robbery in which the defendant was not implicated, as it explained the genesis and motive of the robbery at issue.

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