Following a jury trial, co-defendants Jose Cruz, Juan Rodriguez, and Gaspar Sylvester collectively “defendants” were each convicted on one count of armed robbery.1 They appeal their convictions and the denial of their respective motions for new trial, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support their convictions and that they were unable to meaningfully participate in their defense due to their inability to understand English or Spanish. In addition, Sylvester contends that the trial court erred in failing to find that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Because the charges arose from the same incident and the defendants were tried together, we have consolidated their separate appeals for review. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in all three cases. 1. We first address defendants’ challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be construed in a light most favorable to the verdict and appellants no longer enjoy a presumption of innocence.” Punctuation omitted. Dennis v. State .2 In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendants guilty of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia .3 Furthermore, “on appeal, the standard of review for denial of a motion for directed verdict is the same as that for determining the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction.” Punctuation omitted. Terry v. State .4
So viewed, the record shows that some time after midnight on October 7, 2006, Gerardo Aulet was returning to his own apartment from an evening out with friends when another friend invited him to have a few beers with Cruz, Rodriguez, and Sylvester at their apartment, which was a few doors down from Aulet’s. After a couple of hours, Aulet’s friend left. A short time later, Aulet also started to leave the apartment, but as he did, Cruz, Rodriguez, and Sylvester stopped him and started beating him. As Aulet struggled, Sylvester brandished a knife, and the three defendants took two necklaces that Aulet had been wearing and $500 that he had been carrying in his pocket. Finally, a fourth unidentified man, who had also been in the apartment, intervened and convinced the three defendants to let Aulet leave. Aulet, who only spoke Spanish, immediately went to his own apartment and asked his female roommate, who spoke English, to call the police.
