Following a jury trial, Sheldon Bryant was convicted on one count each of armed robbery,1 kidnapping,2 aggravated assault,3 burglary,4 carrying a concealed weapon,5 and forgery.6 He appeals his convictions and the denial of his motion for new trial, 1 challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and contending that the trial court erred in 2 admitting into evidence his videotaped custodial statements to the police; 3 charging the jury that it could consider the level of certainty demonstrated by an eyewitness in her identification of him; 4 violating the rule of sequestration; 5 failing to charge the jury that it could consider that a witness was not sequestered when determining credibility; and 6 imposing the maximum sentence upon Bryant as a recidivist. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. 1. We first address Bryant’s contention that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be construed in a light most favorable to the verdict, and Bryant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence.” Punctuation omitted. Berry v. State .7 “When evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.” Adams v. State .8 See Jackson v. Virginia .9
So viewed, the evidence shows that on the morning of November 15, 2001, Rebecca Kaufmann was sleeping in her apartment when she was awakened by the sound of someone tapping on her window. Less than a minute or so later, she heard someone knocking on the outer door of the common entry-way of her apartment building, followed by the sound of that door being opened. A few seconds later, someone began loudly pounding on the door to her apartment. Before Kaufmann could call for help, her door crashed open, and Bryant, a stranger to Kaufmann, entered her apartment. Kaufmann jumped out of her bed and began screaming at Bryant to leave. However, Bryant pulled out what appeared to be a knife, told Kaufmann that he was looking for something to steal, and threatened to hurt Kaufmann if she did not comply with his demands. He then pushed her in the chest and ordered her into her bedroom closet. A few minutes later, as Bryant was rifling through her possessions, Kaufmann left the closet to reach a nearby telephone, but before she was able to do so, Bryant ripped the telephone off the wall and again threatened her with the weapon he was carrying, ordering her back into the closet. Shortly thereafter, Bryant took Kaufmann’s camera and directed her to remain in the closet for five minutes while he escaped. Kaufmann complied, but once she was certain Bryant had left, she ran to a nearby friend’s apartment and called the police.