Bledson v. State

No evidence showed that an officer was still in pursuit of the defendant after her passenger, who was wanted on 11 outstanding warrants, fled from her vehicle and ultimately fired on an officer.

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A jury found Latoya Renee Bledson guilty of fleeing from a police officer.1 She appeals from the conviction, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict and contending the trial court erred in denying her motion for a directed verdict of acquittal. Because the evidence was insufficient to establish the offense of fleeing from a police officer, we reverse. “The standard of review for the denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is the same as for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction.”2 Under that standard, we must view the evidence in a light favorable to the jury’s verdict.3 We neither weigh the evidence nor assess witness credibility; rather, we inquire whether any rational fact finder could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.4

So construed, the evidence shows that Christopher Quinones was wanted on 11 outstanding warrants for, among other things, the aggravated assault of a police officer. On the evening of May 14, 2004, a deputy with the Hall County Sheriff’s Department received an anonymous tip concerning the whereabouts of Quinones. The deputy proceeded to the house identified by the tipster, but Quinones was not there. Other individuals at the house, however, informed the deputy that Quinones had left only a few minutes before in a vehicle driven by Bledson. They also provided the deputy with a description of the vehicle and its tag number. The deputy was familiar with Bledson and the vehicle because Bledson had worked at a convenience store that was on the deputy’s usual nighttime patrol route.

Bledson v. State

No evidence showed that an officer was still in pursuit of the defendant after her passenger, who was wanted on 11 outstanding warrants, fled from her vehicle and ultimately fired on an officer.

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