L. A., a sixteen-year-old boy, was found guilty of violating probation and two counts of theft by receiving stolen property; he was adjudicated delinquent and committed to the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. He appeals, arguing that: the juvenile court erred in denying his motion to suppress his confession; there was no evidence to corroborate his confession; the juvenile court should have suppressed an eyewitness identification because it was not credible; and the evidence was insufficient. For reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part. “On appeal from a delinquency adjudication, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to support the juvenile court’s findings and judgment.”1 Because it is the juvenile court’s role to resolve conflicts in the evidence, we do not weigh the evidence, but merely evaluate its sufficiency.2 Viewed in this manner, the evidence shows that on April 26, 2007, a Georgia State Trooper attempted to make a traffic stop of a speeding vehicle. The vehicle, a black Volvo, fled at a high rate of speed. The officer temporarily lost sight of the vehicle after it turned into an apartment complex; when he located the vehicle, it had crashed into a pole, and three people were running from the scene. One person was running toward an apartment building while holding his head. The officer then learned that the vehicle had been reported as stolen. A computer, an Xbox game system, and other items found in the trunk of the vehicle were later determined to have been stolen from the residence of Samara Davis on April 26.
The black Volvo involved in the chase had been stolen that morning from neighbors of L. A. One of the neighbors, Ahmad Dura, testified that he saw L. A. drive away in the vehicle. Later that day, L. A. walked past Dura’s house with “a swollen face.” Dura then called police to report that L. A. was in the neighborhood with an injury to his eye. The police responded, and Dura directed them to L. A.’s residence. Detective Phillips of the Fulton County Police went to L. A.’s residence, where she spoke with L. A. and his father. She read Miranda 3 warnings to L. A., and his father gave Officer Phillips permission to speak to the child. L. A. told Officer Phillips that he and another person had entered the Volvo at his neighbors’ home and driven away. They drove to a friend’s house, and L. A. entered another vehicle. Later that day, L. A. was riding in the Volvo a second time when the chase with the state trooper occurred. The vehicle eventually crashed into a pole in an apartment complex. L. A. admitted he knew that the Volvo was stolen.
