Following the carjacking of James William Pike, Dratez Wilcox and Paul Docks were indicted for the following offenses: hijacking a motor vehicle, OCGA § 16-5-44.1 Count 1, armed robbery Count 2, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Count 3, false imprisonment Count 4, interference with government property Count 5, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony Count 6. Docks, who also was indicted for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon Count 7, entered a guilty plea. Wilcox was tried by a jury and convicted on Counts 1 and 6 and acquitted on Counts 2, 3, 4, and 5. The jury also found him guilty of the lesser included offense of theft by taking, which was listed as a separate offense on the verdict form.1 The trial court merged the theft conviction with Count 1 and sentenced Wilcox on that count to fifteen years in prison, plus a five-year suspended sentence on Count 6. On appeal, Wilcox argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel; that the court’s charge on theft by taking as a lesser included offense misled the jury into believing that theft by taking was not a lesser included offense of hijacking a motor vehicle; and that the court failed to respond adequately to a question from the jury concerning Count 6. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. 1. Although Wilcox does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction of hijacking a motor vehicle, we briefly review the evidence to address his enumerated errors in context. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict,2 the evidence adduced at trial shows that on December 29, 2004, Pike, the victim, left Loco’s Deli after dinner with friends at 8:30 p.m. and walked to his car, a 2001 Land Rover Discovery. Pike testified that he saw two men sitting on some steps approximately fifteen yards away from his car. The men approached Pike, pointed a gun at him, put him on the ground, put the gun in his ear, cursed at him, and said “they would f — — — kill” him if he did not give them his car. They also demanded his valuables. Pike gave the men his keys and wallet. The men jumped in Pike’s car and fled. After the men stole his car, Pike, who kept his cell phone, called 911.
A BOLO “be on the lookout” alert was issued for Pike’s Land Rover. City of Atlanta police officer Michael Skillman spotted the vehicle less than ten minutes after hearing the BOLO and followed it to the corner of Peachtree and Collier Roads. He called for backup units. The police surrounded the stolen vehicle and ordered the occupants to get out of the car. The men did not obey; they hit the gas and struck a police vehicle. Wilcox, who was driving, and his passenger, co-defendant Docks, were taken from the stolen vehicle by force. Skillman, who searched the car, testified that he found a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson in a compartment on the driver’s side and the victim’s wallet, containing $950 in cash, on the floor. Police officers identified Wilcox at trial as the driver of the vehicle. Pike identified Wilcox as the man who held the gun to his head. Pike also testified that the gun did not belong to him.
