Following a jury trial, Franklin Lloyd Harris was convicted of motor vehicle theft Count 1 and felony theft by taking Count 2. The trial court merged Count 2 into Count 1, and sentenced Harris to ten years. On appeal from the denial of his motion for new trial, Harris contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred in failing to give his requested charge on the lesser included offense of misdemeanor theft by taking. For the reasons which follow, we disagree and affirm. On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to support the jury’s verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determines whether the evidence is sufficient under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia .1 Conflicts in the testimony of witnesses, including the state’s witnesses, are a matter of credibility to be resolved by the jury, and as long as there is some competent evidence, even though contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the state’s case, the jury’s verdict will be upheld.2 So viewed, the evidence shows that Sheila Garrett, Ann Hedden, and Harris stole a lawn mower from Home Depot in Dalton. According to Garrett, Harris loaded the mower into a red Ford Aerostar van and then sold it to someone in Athens, Tennessee. Garrett, who pled guilty before trial, testified that Harris stole the mower from the Dalton Home Depot and identified him at trial. Lee Davis, a loss prevention investigator at the Dalton Home Depot, investigated the theft. Davis reviewed the store’s video surveillance tape from April 28, 2006, and observed several individuals outside the store, loading a red Toro riding lawn mower into the back of a van.3 Davis testified that the mowers were secured outside the store with a chain; that the mowers outside at the time of the theft ranged in value from $899 to $1,399; and that the mower at issue was “definitely worth over $500.” Davis also testified that other than using a key, the only way to undo the chain would be to use bolt cutters. The surveillance tape was played for the jury.
On May 2, 2006, officers investigating the incident were dispatched to a residence on James Street where they observed a red Ford Aerostar van similar to the van used during the theft at Home Depot. The license plate and rear seats had been removed from the vehicle, and a bolt cutter was found under the front seat. Officers subsequently discovered the license plate in a pile of shingles next to the residence. When officers entered the residence, Harris was hiding under a pile of clothing in the corner of a bedroom. After he was read his Miranda rights, Harris told officers that he had driven the van to the James Street residence, removed the license plate, and concealed it in some shingles.
