Craig Walker, Jr., appeals the trial court’s order denying his motion to withdraw his non-negotiated guilty plea to the offenses of robbery and aggravated assault. Because we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s denial of Walker’s motion to withdraw, we affirm. The record shows that on October 22, 2008, Clayton County issued a warrant for Walker’s arrest for the armed robbery of a Wing Lab restaurant. The warrant alleged that Walker did . . . commit the offense of ARMED ROBBERY . . . with intent to commit theft, did while acting in concert with Derrick McHenry take $400.00 from the person or immediate presence of Demetric Jackson an employee of Wing Lab . . . by the use of an offensive weapon being a chrome automatic handgun, by Mr. Henry sic walking up to the drive thru and pointing the gun at the cashier, Mr. Jackson and demanded money. Mr. Jackson ran toward the rear. Mr. Walker then climbed through the window and removed the money from the register and ran off. At a hearing on May 7, 2009, the state agreed to reduce the charges against Walker and his co-defendant, McHenry, to robbery and aggravated assault. At the hearing, the trial court explained to Walker that it would sentence him as a first offender to twelve years, with ten years to be served in confinement and the balance on probation; the trial court expressly advised Walker that it would not accept the state’s recommendation of ten years, with five to serve in confinement. Following the hearing, at which he was represented by counsel, Walker elected to enter a guilty plea to both counts and was sentenced to twelve years, ten to serve in confinement. Four days later, Walker filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and a consented-to motion for withdrawal of counsel. Fifteen days later, new counsel filed another motion to withdraw Walker’s guilty plea. Following a hearing, the trial court denied that motion. Walker appeals, contending that his plea was not voluntarily entered and was invalid because he was denied effective assistance of counsel.
When a defendant enters a plea of guilty, and subsequently challenges the validity of the guilty plea, the state may meet its burden of demonstrating that the plea was intelligently and voluntarily entered by showing on the record of the guilty plea hearing that the defendant was cognizant of all of the rights he was waiving and the possible consequences of his plea. The trial court is the final arbiter of all factual issues raised by the evidence, and after sentence is pronounced a guilty plea may be withdrawn only to correct a manifest injustice.1 The trial court’s ruling on a motion to withdraw a guilty plea after the sentence is pronounced will not be disturbed on appeal absent a manifest abuse of discretion.2
