Leverette v. State

Any alleged error in the trial court's charge that slight movement is sufficient to prove asportation did not require reversal, given the overwhelming and undisputed evidence of asportation.

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A jury found Andre Leverette guilty of two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with an object likely to cause serious bodily injury, and robbery. Leverette appeals, arguing the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions for kidnapping with bodily injury and the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the element of asportation. We find no error and affirm the convictions. On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to support the jury’s verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, this Court does not weigh the evidence or evaluate witness credibility, but determines only if there is sufficient evidence from which a rational trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charged offenses.1 As long as there is some evidence, even though contradicted, to support each necessary element of the state’s case, this Court will uphold the jury’s verdict.2 To that end, the testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact.3

Viewed in that light, the evidence showed that the victim drove her car to a bookstore and parked in the parking lot. She opened the door, then sat in the car, with her foot on the running board, while she finished a cell phone conversation. As she finished the conversation, Leverette walked up to her and asked if he could borrow her phone. The victim told him no, and Leverette hit her on the side of her face. Leverette then pushed her back into the seat and continued to hit her, telling her to “shut the f —up.” When the victim tried to reach her car horn, Leverette bent her over the console and put his arm across her throat. The victim ended up in the passenger seat and couldn’t see anything because her eye was swollen shut. She also had a bloody lip, and her jaw had frozen. A nearby witness saw the victim and Leverette struggling in the car.

Leverette v. State

Any alleged error in the trial court's charge that slight movement is sufficient to prove asportation did not require reversal, given the overwhelming and undisputed evidence of asportation.

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