Terence Lajuan Theophile was convicted of armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, and attempted theft by taking. He was sentenced to a total of 25 years, with 15 years to serve in prison. On appeal from the order denying his motion for a new trial, Theophile argues that the trial court erred in refusing to allow an alibi witness to testify and in denying his motion for a continuance. We disagree and affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that shortly after 11:00 p. m. on November 19, 2001, John Williams was sitting in a borrowed car when he saw two masked men running toward him. One of the masked men was carrying a rifle, and the other had a shotgun. They ordered Williams to get out of the car and onto the ground. Apparently, Williams did not comply quickly enough, and the robber wearing what Williams described as a “Scream-looking mask” hit him in the chest with the butt of the rifle. While Williams was on the ground, the other robber went through his pockets and took his cell phone and wallet. Then the robbers stole his car.
Later that same night, between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., John Finley heard a loud noise and looked through his apartment window. He saw that someone had broken into his car, and three men were trying to steal it. However, the car was equipped with an anti-theft device, and the men could not start it. Finley called 911, and the police arrived in time to apprehend one of the suspects, James Herrington. The car stolen from Williams was recovered at the scene. A loaded 12-gauge shotgun, a rifle, a “Scream” Halloween mask, and a ski mask, were found in the car. Hairs were recovered from the “Scream” mask; one matched Theophile’s DNA profile. Theophile’s co-defendant, Antonio Pounds, pleaded guilty to robbery by force and testified against Theophile. Pounds testified that he, Theophile, and another man, Ronald Bennett, went joyriding with Herrington; that Theophile wanted to steal Williams’s car because it had stereo equipment; that Theophile led the men to Williams’s house and took the shotgun and rifle out of Herrington’s trunk; and that Herrington and Pounds drove off and left Theophile and Bennett at the scene. Several minutes later, Theophile called Pounds and instructed him and Herrington to meet Theophile on a specific street. When Pounds arrived, Theophile and Bennett were there with the stolen car. Pounds watched the men take stereo equipment out of Williams’s car and stash it in Herrington’s trunk. Pounds testified that there were masks in the back seat where Theophile and Bennett were sitting, although Pounds never saw either one wearing a mask.
