In March 2006, a Lowndes County jury found Jamaal Boykins-White guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of two counts of armed robbery, OCGA § 16-8-41; and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, OCGA § 16-11-106. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. For the following reasons, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the record shows the following. Between 11:00 p.m. and midnight on August 2, 2004, two armed robberies occurred at separate Valdosta-area Sonic restaurants. The first robbery was committed at approximately 11:15 p.m. by three black males, at least two of whom were armed. The second robbery was committed close to midnight by two armed males. Within minutes, an officer responding to the second armed robbery report observed a black male in a ditch near the scene of the second robbery. The man was crawling on the ground and removing his pants. At 12:22 a.m., the officer arrested the man, who was later identified as the appellant, Boykins-White, and patted him down for safety. A search incident to the arrest produced both loose and paper-clipped cash totaling $1,165. Similar to the cash stolen from the Sonic locations, the paper-clipped cash was joined by denomination. The officer also found pants consistent with those worn by one of the robbers laying near where he first observed Boykins-White. Officers subsequently searched the area near the second robbery location, in the direction that the robbers had run following the robbery, and they found discarded clothing, coins, a cash register, and a gun.
Boykins-White was subsequently transported to Lowndes County jail. After being incarcerated, he made at least two phone calls that were automatically recorded by the jail’s phone call monitoring system. At the beginning of each phone call, as well as during each phone call, a recorded message notified the caller that the call may be recorded or monitored. During the phone calls, Boykins-White made a series of incriminating statements, including admissions that he was involved in the robberies. At trial, the State played the recorded phone conversations for the jury.
