Jonathan Wesley Galmore was convicted of four counts of armed robbery, two counts of kidnaping, two counts of false imprisonment, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.1 He appeals following the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that the evidence of asportation was insufficient to support his kidnaping convictions under the standard announced by our Supreme Court in Garza v. State , 284 Ga. 696, 701-702 1 670 SE2d 73 2008.2 As to that issue, which is the only issue before us in this appeal, the evidence adduced at trial showed that Marcus Cherry, Shayna Britt and Bryan Cromer lived at 5279 Arrowind Drive in Gwinnett County. In the early morning hours of August 5, 2003, Cherry was in the residence along with a friend, Chris King; Cromer had left the house to go pick up Britt, who was at her mother’s house. Cromer and Britt returned home and exited their car, but before they could make it into the house two men wearing partially-concealing cloths around their face, subsequently identified as Galmore and Julius Johnson, came from around the side of the house, told Cromer to open the door, and took Cromer and Britt into the house at gunpoint.
Cherry and King were in the kitchen when the others entered, and Galmore and Johnson ordered them to get on the floor. The man with the shotgun had Cromer in a headlock with the shotgun pointed at him, and they took Cromer and Britt towards the kitchen and ordered them on the floor also. Galmore and Johnson demanded that the victims give them money, drugs, and other items of value, the victims gave them cash, cell phones and other items they had on them, and these items were placed in a black bag. Galmore stayed in the kitchen with the shotgun pointed at the victims while Johnson began going through the house, ransacking parts of it, in search of more valuables, at one point dragging Cromer out of the kitchen to open a safe in his bedroom, which was empty. After Cromer and Johnson came back, all the victims but Britt were “hog tied” with cords of various sorts.3 Johnson told Britt to take off her clothes, but she refused.
