Shelton v. State

The trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion for an out-of-time appeal based upon his claim that the trial court accepted his guilty pleas in violation of double jeopardy because the offenses, which required proof of different facts, were separate and did not merge.

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Lorenzo Shelton pled guilty to aggravated assault with intent to rape OCGA § 16-5-21 a 1 and kidnapping OCGA § 16-5-40 a on February 2, 2007. He was sentenced to 20 years on each count to be served consecutively, for a total of 40 years imprisonment. More than three years later, on March 4, 2010, Shelton filed a pro se “Motion for Out-of-Time Appeal to Vacate Void Sentence,” contending i that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Specifically, he also alleges ii that his guilty pleas were accepted in violation of the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy; iii that his sentence was void since the indictment failed to allege the essential elements of the offenses; and iv that the alleged asportation was insufficient to support the kidnapping conviction under the Garza 1 test. The trial court denied the motion, from which Shelton appeals. For the reasons explained below, we affirm. The factual basis2 for Shelton’s guilty plea reflected that on September 22, 2006 at 3:00 a.m., the female victim was doing laundry at a laundromat facility. Shelton entered the facility and approached the victim. Shelton then grabbed the victim and dragged her from the front of the facility to a bathroom in the back of the facility. While holding the victim in the bathroom for approximately 40 minutes, Shelton sexually assaulted the victim and had forcible sexual intercourse with the victim against her will.

The laundromat facility was equipped with a video camera that recorded portions of Shelton’s attack against the victim. The victim also was able to give a detailed description of Shelton as the attacker. Shelton was subsequently arrested and charged with the aggravated assault and kidnapping offenses.

Shelton v. State

The trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion for an out-of-time appeal based upon his claim that the trial court accepted his guilty pleas in violation of double jeopardy because the offenses, which required proof of different facts, were separate and did not merge.

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