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Chappell v. State

The trial court did not err in charging the jury that ' "a firearm, when used as such, is a deadly weapon as a matter of law." '

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Following a jury trial, Natonya Travis Chappell appeals his conviction for aggravated assault, arguing that the trial court erred in instructing the jury “that a firearm, when used as such, is a deadly weapon as a matter of law.” Because this instruction is correct, we affirm. Construed in favor of the verdict, Short v. State ,1 the evidence shows that when an acquaintance denied Chappell his request to ride in the acquaintance’s vehicle, Chappell pulled out a handgun and shot three or four times into the vehicle at the acquaintance in the driver’s seat. The bullets shattered the vehicle’s driver side window, spraying the acquaintance with glass that lacerated his face and injured his eye. One bullet struck the acquaintance in the neck. The acquaintance managed to drive away and continued to a hospital, where he was treated.

Indicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,2 Chappell claimed at trial that the testimony of the acquaintance and of a passenger in the vehicle was incredible. Rejecting this tact, the jury found him guilty. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in instructing the jury “that a firearm, when used as such, is a deadly weapon as a matter of law.” Claiming that a firearm such as one containing blanks is not necessarily always deadly, he asserts that the jury should always be allowed to decide whether a firearm even when used as such is a deadly weapon under OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2.

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