Mikell v. State

The defendant's aggravated assault conviction merged as a matter of fact into his malice murder conviction, since no evidence showed that the aggravated assault was independent of the act which caused the victim's death.

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Appellant Calvin Mikell was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in connection with the stabbing death of Laqueta Williams.1 He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial asserting that the trial court erred by finding that he received effective assistance of trial counsel. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgments of conviction in part, but we vacate the conviction and sentence for aggravated assault and remand to the trial court for resentencing. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that appellant broke down the door of the hotel room where the victim was staying. He then entered the room, pinned the victim to the ground, and stabbed her in the head, arms, neck, and chest, resulting in her death. A witness who identified appellant in a photographic line-up saw him banging on the victim’s door with a hammer and DNA evidence linked appellant with the scene of the crime. The evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

2. Appellant contends he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. In order to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington , 466 U. S. 668 104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674 1984, appellant “must prove both that his trial counsel’s performance was deficient and that there is a reasonable probability that the trial result would have been different if not for the deficient performance. Cit.” White v. State , 283 Ga. 566, 569 4 662 SE2d 131 2008. We conclude appellant failed to make the requisite showings.

Mikell v. State

The defendant's aggravated assault conviction merged as a matter of fact into his malice murder conviction, since no evidence showed that the aggravated assault was independent of the act which caused the victim's death.

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