A jury found Rico Wright guilty of two counts of aggravated assault OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, as amended, Wright appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and arguing that the trial court erred in admitting similar transaction evidence, hearsay evidence and testimony about the victim’s pre-trial identification of Wright, which was impermissibly suggestive. Wright also contends that trial counsel was ineffective. Finding that the evidence was sufficient to support Wright’s convictions beyond a reasonable doubt and otherwise discerning no error, we affirm. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, a defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence, and the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the guilty verdict.” Citation omitted. Osborne v. State , 291 Ga. App. 711 1 662 SE2d 792 2008.
Viewed in this light, the record shows that on the evening of September 20, 2006, Blue was riding his bicycle when he encountered Wright and two other men, who ran out of a car armed with guns, stopping Blue in his path. Blue was previously acquainted with Wright through Wright’s sister and had attended a party at which Wright was present two days prior. When Wright pointed his gun at Blue, one of the men said, “shoot that —, Ric,” and Blue got off his bicycle and started running. A shot was fired. Blue continued running, but on coming to a stop, he thought he had been hit in the back because he had extreme pain but could find no blood. Blue was taken to the hospital and it was determined that he had been wounded in the area of his left inner thigh and his right testicle. Also, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, it appears that Wright fired the round that struck Blue. That same evening, Officer Stacy Sapp of the City of Dublin Police Department responded to the scene of the shooting and with knowledge that Blue had identified Wright as his assailant, thereafter went to the hospital to speak with the victim. Showing Blue a photograph of Wright which she had obtained from her office computer, Officer Sapp asked Blue, “Is this the Rico Wright who shot you” Blue stated ‘yes,’ identifying Wright as his assailant. Blue also identified Wright at trial as the person who shot him.
