Medlin v. State

Evidence that defendant broke through the victim's back door, pointed a gun at her, demanded money, and took between $20 and $40 from her purse was sufficient to support his convictions.

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A Tattnall County jury found Jonathan Medlin guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of armed robbery, OCGA § 16-8-41; burglary, OCGA § 16-7-1; possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, OCGA § 16-11-106 b; and criminal trespass, OCGA § 16-7-21 a. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress, claiming that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and challenging the weight and sufficiency of the evidence. Finding no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the evidence showed the following relevant facts. Just after 5:30 a.m. on February 9, 2003, while the victim was at home alone, reading the mail and drinking coffee, two men broke through her back door and pointed guns at her. The men were wearing gloves, appeared to be wearing ski masks, and looked like “terrorists.” One of the men was short and stocky and had a pistol, while the other was tall and thin and was holding a shotgun. The shorter man demanded money, and he warned the victim not to “try anything” because he had cut her phone line. The victim went to her bedroom, got her purse, and gave it to the shorter man. The man asked the victim about a safe, but she told him she did not have a safe in the house. After taking between $20 and $40, both men left the house. The victim called 911 on her cellphone.

Police officers arrived and found two sets of footprints leading from the house to a set of tire tracks on the road. One set of footprints appeared to have been made by someone wearing boots, and the other footprints were apparently made by tennis shoes. The tire tracks showed that the tires were spinning as the vehicle left the victim’s property. An officer brought a tracking dog to the scene at about 6:45 a.m., and the dog tracked a scent along the footprints from the victim’s house to the tire tracks. An investigator also testified that someone had disconnected the telephone wires on the outside of the victim’s house.

Medlin v. State

Evidence that defendant broke through the victim's back door, pointed a gun at her, demanded money, and took between $20 and $40 from her purse was sufficient to support his convictions.

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