A judge of the Juvenile Court of Charlton County adjudicated 16-year-old J. W. B. delinquent of committing acts which, if committed by an adult, would have constituted felony aggravated assault, OCGA § 16-5-21. J. W. B. appeals, contending the evidence adduced was insufficient to support his adjudication beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the court erred in admitting evidence of J. W. B.’s opprobrious conduct after the assault was allegedly over. Finding no error, we affirm. 1. J. W. B. contends the evidence adduced was insufficient to show an aggravated assault in that it shows only that he was defending himself, not that he assaulted the victim in this case. We disagree. In considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting an adjudication of delinquency, we construe the evidence and every inference from the evidence in favor of the juvenile court’s adjudication to determine if a reasonable finder of fact could have found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the juvenile committed the acts charged. The standard of review on appeal in a case of adjudication of delinquency of a juvenile is the same as that for any criminal case. We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility. Citations, punctuation and footnotes omitted. In the Interest of M. V. H. , 281 Ga. App. 486, 487 636 SE2d 168 2006. So viewed, the record reveals the following relevant facts.
On March 13, 2008, J. W. B. and a neighbor, Willie Cobb, were sitting on the porch with another friend, engaged in a conversation about politics and religion. The conversation turned into an argument, and J. W. B. “jumped up and put his hands in Cobb’s face, like he was going to hit him.” Cobb walked away, but J. W. B. followed him. J. W. B threw a punch at Cobb, and Cobb punched J. W. B. back, knocking him down. Cobb walked away again, and J. W. B. followed him. J. W. B. spit in Cobb’s face and shouted racial slurs. Cobb walked to his home, and J. W. B. grabbed a metal rod from a neighbor’s garden. J. W. B. ran at Cobb, aggressively swinging the rod at Cobb, who felt threatened enough to go inside his home and grab a kitchen knife. Cobb stayed inside while J. W. B.’s mother tried to calm him down. J. W. B. continued shouting racial epithets and dropped his pants in front of female witnesses. An assault is an attempt to commit a violent injury to the person of another or an act which places another in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury. OCGA § 16-5-20. Aggravated assault is an assault conducted with an object which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to result in serious bodily injury. OCGA § 16-5-21. Merneigh v. State , 242 Ga. App. 735, 736 1 531 SE2d 152 2000. “When the use of a deadly weapon places the victim in reasonable apprehension of immediate violent injury, the felony offense of aggravated assault has occurred. OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2.” In the Interest of M. F. , 276 Ga. App. 402, 404 1 b 623 SE2d 234 2005. J. W. B. does not contest the fact that a metal rod constitutes an “object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to . . . result in serious bodily injury” pursuant to OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2. See Culbertson v. State , 193 Ga. App. 9, 10-11 386 SE2d 894 1989. Rather, he argues that he only grabbed the metal rod to defend himself against Cobb, who had a knife. Given the evidence adduced from several witnesses, however, the court was authorized to find that it was Cobb who was acting in self defense. The evidence supports the court’s finding that after Cobb walked away from the round of punches, J. W. B. grabbed a metal rod and swung it toward Cobb, who retreated inside his home where he then grabbed the knife.
