Smith v. State

Following a bench trial, Zatorian Smith appeals his conviction of voluntary manslaughter, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. He also contends that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by advising him to waive his right to a jury trial and that the trial court erred in allowing a bench trial over the state’s objection. We find no error and affirm. “On appeal from a criminal conviction after a bench trial, we view the evidence with all inferences in favor of the factfinder’s conclusion, giving due regard to the trial court’s opportunity to judge witness credibility.” Punctuation and footnote omitted. Williams v. State , 287 Ga. App. 40, 41 1 651 SE2d 347 2007. So viewed, the evidence showed that in the early morning hours of June 28, 2002, Smith, who went by the street name “Dee,” responded to a call from Annie Loundy, his cousin’s girlfriend. Loundy was upset because when she returned home from work, two men, one of whom was the victim, had followed her into her home and sexually harrassed her. She managed to get away, but also realized that clothing and other personal effects had been stolen from her home. Shortly after Smith arrived at Loundy’s house, they saw the victim walking up the street wearing some of Loundy’s stolen clothing. A heated confrontation ensued, and Smith fatally shot the unarmed victim in the abdomen. Loundy and Smith left the scene in Smith’s vehicle and went to Smith’s apartment. An eyewitness to the confrontation and shooting later identified the shooter as “Dee.”

The eye witness also gave police information which led the investigating officers to Loundy, who identified Smith as the shooter. The officers subsequently obtained a search warrant for Smith’s apartment and during its execution, found a 95-grain .38 caliber Winchester silver tip hollow point bullet, the same type bullet as that removed from the victim’s body. That particular kind of bullet was not in stores or available for purchase at the time of the shooting because Winchester had ceased manufacturing them in 1998.