Following a jury trial, John Lafayette Wilkes was acquitted of aggravated assault and convicted of armed robbery, two counts of theft by taking, and obstructing an emergency telephone call. He was sentenced to 30 years, with 20 to serve. On appeal, Wilkes challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. We affirm. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to support the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence.”1 So viewed, the evidence shows that Waneka Jackson and Wilkes were social acquaintances in 2004 but then lost contact. Wilkes called Jackson in late October 2005, and they met for dinner. Jackson was pregnant, single, and recently unemployed. Wilkes told her that he had been hurt on his job and that his apartment had burned down while he was in the hospital. Wilkes claimed that he was staying with a friend, and Jackson offered to drive him home after dinner, as he had no car. The friend did not appear to be at home, however, and Jackson allowed Wilkes to stay at her apartment.
Several days later, Wilkes asked to borrow Jackson’s car, but she refused as she needed the car to drive to a revival service. After the service, Jackson returned home and went to bed. Wilkes was sleeping on the living room sofa. At around 5:00 a.m., the father of Jackson’s unborn child called her. After Jackson ended the call, Wilkes entered her room and demanded to be driven to Decatur. When Jackson refused, Wilkes began pacing between the living room and her bedroom and stated, “You’re going to take me to Decatur now.” Jackson became afraid of Wilkes and called 9-1-1 from her cell phone. When Wilkes overheard Jackson whispering her address to the operator, he entered her room with a gun and screamed, “I know you’re not calling the police on me,” and snatched the phone from her hand. Then Wilkes disconnected the call, pointed the gun at Jackson’s head, and demanded her car keys. When he pointed the gun at Jackson’s belly, she disclosed that the keys were in her Bible. Wilkes could not find the keys in the Bible’s carrying case, so he ordered Jackson to produce them, and she did. Wilkes then left, taking Jackson’s keys, cell phone, and car. Jackson ran to a neighbor’s apartment and called the police. The officer who responded to the call testified that Jackson provided a description of the stolen cell phone and vehicle. The officer called Jackson’s number, and a man answered. Jackson recognized the man’s voice as Wilkes’s. Six months later, on May 3, 2006, Wilkes was stopped driving the stolen vehicle.
