A Bulloch County jury found Ricky Mock guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of several crimes relating to an attempted armed robbery of a Statesboro restaurant. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that the State failed to prove venue and that the trial court gave an erroneous jury instruction on aggravated assault. Because there was insufficient evidence to prove venue, we reverse Mock’s convictions. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the evidence showed that, on the evening of December 22, 2007, Mock entered a Pizza Hut restaurant in Statesboro, pointed a gun at the cashier, and told her to give him all of her money. The cashier pretended that she was unable to open the cash registers and safe. She turned around, looked at another restaurant employee, and mouthed the words, “help me.” When the employee started walking toward the cashier, Mock walked out of the restaurant’s emergency exit. Mock did not obtain any money during the episode. The cashier ran to the back of the restaurant and called 911. Statesboro police officers arrested Mock shortly thereafter as he was running away from the scene.
1. Mock contends that he is entitled to a new trial because the State failed to prove venue. We agree. Our Georgia Constitution requires that venue in all criminal cases must be laid in the county in which the crime was allegedly committed. Venue is a jurisdictional fact, and is an essential element in proving that one is guilty of the crime charged. Like every other material allegation in the indictment, venue must be proved by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt. Proof of venue is a part of the State’s case, and the State’s failure to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt renders the verdict contrary to law, without a sufficient evidentiary basis, and warrants reversal. Punctuation and footnotes omitted. Jones v. State , 272 Ga. 900, 901-902 2 537 SE2d 80 2000 rendering the “slight evidence exception” regarding proof of venue a nullity because it “can never be applied to situations where a criminal defendant pleads not guilty to the charges indicted against him or her and is placed on trial”. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. II, Par. VI; OCGA § 17-2-2 a.
