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Cantera v. State

Where no question remained as to the perpetrator's intent in shooting the victim, the trial court did not err in failing to instruct the jury on simple assault in connection with its charge on aggravated assault.

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In Cantera v. State , 304 Ga. App. 289 696 SE2d 354 2010, the Court of Appeals affirmed Vincent Cantera’s convictions for aggravated assault, concealing the death of another, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime.1 With respect the issue relevant to the granted petition for certiorari, the Court of Appeals also held that the trial court did not err in failing to charge the jury on simple assault as an essential element of the offense of aggravated assault in this case. Id. at 293 3. We granted review to determine whether a jury instruction on aggravated assault must include an instruction on simple assault. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that a charge on simple assault is not required in every case involving aggravated assault, and particularly was not required to be given under the circumstances of this case. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the record reveals that Cantera shot the victim, Jose Luis Guerrero, and the victim fled. Cantera chased the victim, and when he caught up to him, he shot him three more times as the victim begged for his life, killing him. On August 14, 2000, Cantera told his son, Efrain Cantera, that he had shot and killed Guerrero. That evening, Cantera drove Efrain and another man to an Echols County hunting property which Cantera leased, where, at gunpoint, he forced Efrain and the other man to bury the victim.

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