Reynolds v. State

Evidence that the victim was bruised on multiple parts of her body and experienced soreness as result of the defendant beating her repeatedly with a 2-foot long wooden plank authorized the jury to find that the victim suffered serious bodily injury.

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The jury convicted Mitchell Reynolds of aggravated assault based on evidence that he struck his girlfriend upon her face and back with a wooden plank.1 The trial court subsequently denied his amended motion for new trial. Reynolds appeals, contending that the trial court should have directed a verdict of acquittal because the state allegedly failed to prove that the victim suffered serious bodily injury, a material averment of the indictment. He further contends that his conviction should be reversed because the trial court allegedly did not instruct the jury properly on the definition of serious bodily injury. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm. 1. “The standard for reviewing the denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is the same as that used for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a criminal conviction.” Punctuation and footnote omitted. Porter v. State , 290 Ga. App. 113, 113-114 1 658 SE2d 893 2008. We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and we will affirm the criminal conviction “if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Punctuation and footnote omitted. Id. at 113 1 658 SE2d 893 2008. See Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979. In conducting our review, we are mindful that it is the role of the jury, not this Court, to weigh the evidence and assess witness credibility. Porter , 290 Ga. App. at 113 1.

Viewed in this manner, the evidence adduced at trial shows that Reynolds and the victim were involved in an intimate relationship “off and on” for five years. During the course of their relationship, Reynolds physically struck and choked the victim on repeated occasions. One of those prior occasions resulted in Reynolds pleading guilty to battery after he slapped the victim, choked her, and pushed her into the kitchen door, causing her eye to bleed.

Reynolds v. State

Evidence that the victim was bruised on multiple parts of her body and experienced soreness as result of the defendant beating her repeatedly with a 2-foot long wooden plank authorized the jury to find that the victim suffered serious bodily injury.

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