Evans v. State

The defendant swung his elbow at an officer and struck him under the eye, causing a deep gash requiring eight stitches, while refusing to allow the officer to handcuff him.

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Following a jury trial, Terry Lamont Evans appeals his conviction for obstructing an officer felony,1 arguing that the evidence was insufficient and that the State did not provide proper pretrial notice of the convictions that the State introduced in aggravation at his sentencing. We hold that direct eyewitness testimony that Evans struck a correctional officer while that officer was attempting to handcuff him sufficed to sustain the conviction, and that the State’s written notice that during sentencing, it would rely on the convictions listed in a GCIC report attached to the notice, sufficiently notified Evans. Accordingly, we affirm. 1. When reviewing a defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. Short v. State .2 We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine if the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia .3

So viewed, the evidence shows that while confined to a probation detention center, Evans refused to follow the instructions of a female correctional officer to arise and perform certain work. She requested assistance from two male correctional officers to handcuff Evans so that Evans could be securely transported to an isolation cell. Evans announced that he would not be handcuffed, and when one male officer attempted to handcuff Evans from behind, Evans swung his elbow at the officer and struck him under the eye, causing a deep gash that bled profusely and required eight stitches. This evidence from three eyewitnesses sufficed to show that Evans knowingly and wilfully resisted a correctional officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties by doing violence to that officer’s person. See OCGA § 16-10-24 b.

Evans v. State

The defendant swung his elbow at an officer and struck him under the eye, causing a deep gash requiring eight stitches, while refusing to allow the officer to handcuff him.

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