Following a bench trial, the Superior Court of Catoosa County found Michael Hickman guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2, and attempting to commit hijacking of a motor vehicle, OCGA § § 16-4-1; 16-5-44.1 b. Hickman appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment or, in the alternative, grant a mistrial and that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he had the requisite intent to hijack a motor vehicle. Finding no error, we affirm. On appeal from a criminal conviction that follows a bench trial, the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence, and we view the evidence in a light favorable to the trial court’s finding of guilt, giving due regard to the trial court’s opportunity to judge witness credibility. This Court does not weigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses. Rather, we determine only if there is enough evidence from which a rational trier of fact could have found the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Punctuation and footnote omitted. Emory v. State , 301 Ga. App. 771, 773-774 2 688 SE2d 682 2009. Viewed in this light, the trial transcript shows the following relevant facts.
At approximately 8:40 p.m. on December 3, 2009, a woman finished shopping at a Kmart store in Fort Oglethorpe and pushed a shopping cart carrying her purse and her purchases to her car, which was parked near the store’s garden center. As she was loading her purchases into the car’s back seat, she looked up and saw a man she did not recognize walking toward her. Sensing that she was in danger, the woman looked at the man and shook her head to signify “no”; the man responded by nodding his head “yes.” As the woman started yelling for help, the man grabbed her around the neck with his left arm and ordered her to get into her car. The woman hereinafter, “the victim” refused to comply. The attacker cursed at her, told her to be quiet, and threatened to “cut her” if she did not get inside the car. When she continued to refuse, he cut her throat with a knife he was holding in his left hand. The attacker then tried to push the victim into the driver’s seat of the car, but the victim’s face hit the back of the driver’s seat and she continued to struggle with the attacker. After the attacker cut the woman’s throat a second time, the victim told the attacker that he could have her purse, which was still in the shopping cart a short distance away, but he continued to assault her and to try to force her into her car. The victim then raised her arm, pushed the “panic” button on the remote lock to her car, and intentionally slumped to the ground to make it harder for the attacker to get her into her car. The attacker kept his arm around the victim’s neck while they scuffled on the ground, and he cut her throat a third time. Finally, in an effort to get the attacker to leave, the victim offered him her car keys, but he refused to take them.
