Morales v. State

The victim's testimony that the defendant pushed him off of a porch railing, walked down the stairs to where he lay and kicked him in the mouth, supported the defendant's aggravated assault conviction.

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A Henry County jury convicted Alberto Juan Morales of aggravated assault OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2.1 On appeal, Morales argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. He also contends that the trial court erred in i denying his motion for directed verdict and ii allowing a witness’s statement to police to be read to the jury after the jury began deliberations. Finding no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict Drammeh v. State , 285 Ga. App. 545, 546 1 646 SE2d 742 2007, the evidence shows that on the evening of September 3, 2005, the victim and others were drinking beer and conversing on the porch of Cesar Hernandez’s Henry County residence. The victim was sitting on the porch railing. According to the victim, Morales pushed him off of the railing, and then walked down the stairs and over to the victim, who was lying prone, where he kicked the victim in the mouth. Hernandez testified that he saw Morales push the victim, who fell to the ground. In his statement to police, Hernandez claimed that he saw the victim and Morales arguing; that Morales pushed the victim; and that Morales kicked the victim two times in the face. When the victim was brought to the hospital, he was paralyzed from the chest down. A medical examination revealed injuries to the victim’s spine, but not to his head.

1. Morales claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for aggravated assault. We disagree. Upon this Court’s review of a criminal defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Citation, punctuation, and emphasis omitted. Robinson v. State , 296 Ga. App. 561 675 SE2d 298 2009.

Morales v. State

The victim's testimony that the defendant pushed him off of a porch railing, walked down the stairs to where he lay and kicked him in the mouth, supported the defendant's aggravated assault conviction.

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