Bellamy v. State

Kenneth Bellamy appeals from his convictions on one count of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.1 He asserts that the trial court erred in its charge to the jury, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and that the trial court erred by failing to merge or vacate one of his firearm convictions. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that the two victims were robbed at gunpoint by three men after they walked and got into their parked car after leaving a nightclub. One of the men had a gun and banged it against the front passenger’s car window where one victim was seated and then went to the driver’s side window where the other victim was seated. The passenger seat victim testified that the gunman “kinda went back and forth.”

When the gunman was at the driver’s side window, he banged the butt of the gun against the window, damaging it, and told the driver’s side victim to roll his window down and give it up. While the passenger fumbled for his wallet, the gunman hit him in the face with his fist and demanded that he hurry up. When the passenger’s wallet fell, one of the men picked it up and took it. When the driver could not retrieve his wallet from his pants quickly because it was stuck, one of the other men hit him in the face. To comply faster, the driver got out of the car, took off his pants, and handed them to the man who hit him.