Following a jury trial, Terry Hall a/k/a Bernard McCoy was convicted of rape,1 kidnapping,2 aggravated assault,3 terroristic threats,4 and two counts of theft by taking one felony and one misdemeanor.5 He appeals his convictions and the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that the trial court erred in i denying his motion for directed verdict of acquittal as to the charges of aggravated assault and terroristic threats; ii failing to merge his convictions of aggravated assault and theft by taking of a motor vehicle; iii failing to merge his convictions of theft by taking of a motor vehicle and theft by taking of the victim’s purse; iv sentencing him to life without parole on the rape conviction; and v failing to find that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm Hall’s convictions but vacate his sentence on the misdemeanor theft by taking count and remand the case for resentencing. “On appeal, the standard of review for denial of a motion for directed verdict is the same as that for determining the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction.” Punctuation omitted. Chambers v. State .6 In reviewing 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 .7 We do not weigh 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 .8
So viewed, the evidence shows that around 12:30 a.m. on June 25, 2002, J. V. exited a MARTA train at the Lindbergh station after having ridden the train from the airport. Upon reaching her car in the MARTA parking deck and opening the car’s door, Hall tackled her from behind and pushed her face-down across the front seats. As J. V. struggled, Hall demanded her car keys. As she continued to struggle, Hall put his hands over her mouth and nose and around her neck and began choking her until she momentarily lost consciousness. When she awoke a few moments later, Hall forced J. V. into the car’s trunk and drove out of the parking deck. After driving around for some time, Hall parked in a remote area behind a building, pulled J. V. out of the trunk, and raped her. He then forced her back into the trunk and began driving again.
