Randolph McKinney, convicted by a Fulton County jury of two counts of armed robbery, OCGA § 16-8-41 a, appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that the State failed to prove venue. Because the record shows that the State failed to prove venue was in Fulton County, we must reverse McKinney’s conviction.The standard for review of the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is whether after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The review of the sufficiency of the evidence to support venue is no different because venue is an essential element that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in every criminal trial. In considering this standard, this Court and the Court of Appeals have consistently stated that the evidentiary review is limited to the evidence actually presented to the jury. Footnotes and punctuation omitted. Thompson v. State , 277 Ga. 102, 103 1 586 SE2d 231 2003. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict,1 the evidence shows the following relevant facts. On April 12, 1998, around 2:30 a.m., Barbara Howard and Mia Musciano, who had earlier picked up some balloons and put them in the back of Howard’s car, stopped at the intersection of Park Drive and Monroe Drive near Virginia Highland in Atlanta because the balloons were blocking driver Howard’s vision. While both women were out of the car adjusting the balloons, two young men came up to them and robbed them at gun-point, taking $170 from Howard and $10 from Musciano. According to Howard, McKinney was the man holding a nine millimeter handgun between her eyes.
A short time later, two men were robbed of their wallets, check book, and money clip at gun-point by two young men while walking on Rosewood Drive near its intersection with Highland Avenue. A City of Atlanta police officer took statements from these two victims at the home of one of the victims on Rosewood Drive. That officer testified that the intersection of Highland Avenue and Rosewood Drive is in Fulton County. Another officer testified that Monroe Drive was approximately one mile from Highland Avenue.
