Fagan v. State

The trial court did not lower the standard of proof when it instructed the jury that each element of the crime must be proven to a moral and reasonable certainty, since the trial court properly charged on the presumption of innocence, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

A Fulton County jury found Britton Fagan guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of armed robbery, OCGA § 16-5-41; two counts of aggravated assault, OCGA § 16-5-21; and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, OCGA § 16-11-106. On appeal from the denial of his motion for new trial, Fagan contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, that the trial court erred in charging the jury, and that the court erred in failing to merge one of his aggravated assault convictions into his armed robbery conviction for sentencing. As explained below, we affirm his convictions, but vacate the judgment in part and remand this case to the trial court for resentencing. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the record shows the following relevant facts. At approximately 8:00 p.m. on December 29, 1996, a masked man wearing beige pants and a camouflage jacket and armed with a handgun entered a McDonalds restaurant in Atlanta. He ordered the employees to the back of the restaurant. He kicked in the manager’s door, disconnected the phone, and ordered the manager to open the safe and the cash register drawers. The cash registers contained cash, coins, and McDonalds’ gift certificates. The robber stuffed money into his jacket and pockets, then ran out the door. Although the manager never determined exactly how much money was taken during the robbery, she estimated that it was over $2,000.

In the meantime, a citizen notified police officers who were patrolling the area that a robbery was in progress at the McDonalds. The officers saw a man in a camouflage jacket and a ski mask pointing a gun and running out of the side door. The officers commanded the man to halt, but he ran toward a nearby residential area. After pursuing the suspect and firing several shots, the officers lost sight of the man when he scaled a fence.

Fagan v. State

The trial court did not lower the standard of proof when it instructed the jury that each element of the crime must be proven to a moral and reasonable certainty, since the trial court properly charged on the presumption of innocence, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report