Ruiz v. State

The trial court harmlessly erred in giving an erroneous charge regarding the defendant's silence using the language of O.C.G.A. § 24-3-36, since the charge as a whole was clear enough not to mislead the jury regarding the right to remain silent, the record did not reveal any references, which could be construed as comment on the defendant's silence, the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming and the charge in no way pointed directly at the substance of the defendant's defense.

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Judgments of conviction were entered against Emmanuel Ruiz after a jury found him guilty of three counts of malice murder and possession of a handgun during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting deaths of Joe Lurhman, David Carty, and Tracy Glover.1 Ruiz appeals, claiming that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel and counsel on motion for new trial, and asserting error with regard to certain jury instructions. For the reasons which follow, we affirm the judgments of conviction. Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence established that Ruiz had been paid $2,500 by Joe Lurhman, the proprietor of F. J.’s Tavern, to procure drugs. Ruiz, however, failed to deliver the drugs and on the afternoon of the shooting, Lurhman made several phone calls to Ruiz attempting to collect his money. That evening, Ruiz told a friend that he intended to go to F. J.’s to kill Lurhman and everyone else in the bar. Ruiz and co-defendant Terry Brandon Harper entered F. J.’s Tavern where Harper shot and killed Lurhman and bar patron David Carty. Ruiz fatally shot bartender Tracy Glover in the parking lot as she ran from the building after shots had been fired in the bar. Ruiz and Harper returned to Ruiz’s apartment where they solicited help from a friend to dispose of the two murder weapons in nearby lakes. These were later retrieved by the police and identified as belonging to Ruiz.

Later on the night of the shooting, Ruiz telephoned his girlfriend and told her, “somebody went up to F. J.’s Tavern and took everyone out.” He admitted to her that he shot a woman in the parking lot because she could have been a witness to the other shootings. Harper told others that he shot Lurhman and another man who happened to be in the bar. Each victim died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Ruiz v. State

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