Norman v. State

Evidence that the defendant helped plan the robberies of two video-poker game rooms, drove the getaway vehicle, and participated in the division of the proceeds showed that he was a party to the crimes.

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Following a bench trial, Marlon Ray Norman was convicted of four counts each of armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.1 On appeal, Norman’s sole enumeration of error is that the evidence was insufficient to support these convictions. For the reasons noted infra , we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s guilty verdict,2 the record shows that on the evening of November 23, 2001, Norman drove two men to a game room in McDuffie County and waited in the car as the men, with guns drawn, ordered the operator and a customer to get down on the floor. One of the men remained up front with his gun pointed at the operator while the other went to the back of the establishment, where various patrons were playing video-poker machines. Among the customers in this back room was Ann Ross, the operator’s granddaughter. The gunman in the front room commanded the operator to fill a bag with all of the money inside the front desk, which amounted to an estimated $3,600.00 in cash and checks. The customer who was in the front managed to sneak out of the establishment and called 911.

Meanwhile, in the back room, the other perpetrator —while waving his gun —demanded money from the customers. One customer handed over $150.00 and another gave the gunman what amounted to less than $10.00. A third customer refused to part with his cash and was struck on the head with the handgun, leaving “a big hole in the back of his head.” At some point, the gunman in the back room also fired his weapon into the roof. The gunmen then fled from the game room with their loot in tow.

Norman v. State

Evidence that the defendant helped plan the robberies of two video-poker game rooms, drove the getaway vehicle, and participated in the division of the proceeds showed that he was a party to the crimes.

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