Williams v. State

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the state to introduce one aggravated assault and armed robbery victim's prior taped statement, since the crime occurred six years prior to trial, the witness could not remember all of the details and the defense cross-examined her.

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After a jury trial, Tony Williams was convicted of armed robbery, obstruction of a law enforcement officer and six counts of aggravated assault. He appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence as to the armed robbery and aggravated assault verdicts and the admission into evidence of taped pretrial statements of two of the aggravated assault victims. The challenges are without merit, and we thus affirm Williams’ conviction. 1. On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence is construed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the appellant is no longer presumed innocent.1 An appellate court does not weigh the evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses, but determines only whether there is sufficient evidence from which a rational trier of fact could find the essential elements of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt.2

Construed in favor of the verdict, the evidence in the instant case shows that on Christmas Eve, 1999, two masked men, armed with a gun, entered a Taco Bell restaurant in Athens-Clarke County. They pointed the gun at the employees in the restaurant; forced the manager to give them money, including rolls of change, from a safe; ordered everyone to get on the floor; and then fled. The police were immediately contacted and arrived at the scene within a few minutes of the robbery.

Williams v. State

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the state to introduce one aggravated assault and armed robbery victim's prior taped statement, since the crime occurred six years prior to trial, the witness could not remember all of the details and the defense cross-examined her.

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