Following a jury trial and the denial of his motion for new trial, Otis Winfrey appeals his convictions for kidnapping with bodily injury,1 aggravated assault,2 possession of a firearm while committing a crime,3 and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon,4 all of which arose out of acts he committed against his ex-girlfriend late one night. Challenging the sufficiency of the evidence on the kidnapping and assault charges, he further claims that the court erred in admitting certain evidence, in failing to charge the jury on certain matters, and in finding that he had not carried his burden of showing ineffective assistance of counsel. Holding the evidence was sufficient and discerning no error, we affirm. 1. When reviewing a defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. Short v. State .5 We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine if the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia .6 We focus here only on the convictions that Winfrey challenges on appeal as lacking evidence the kidnapping-with-bodily-injury and aggravated-assault convictions.
Viewed in this light, the evidence shows that late one night, Winfrey returned to his ex-girlfriend a vehicle they shared and then asked that she take him home. Driving the car with her in the passenger seat, Winfrey did not go to his home but pulled out a gun and, pointing it at her face, announced he was going to kill her for having broken up with him. Begging for her life as he drove toward a remote area, the victim loosened her seat belt and, when they approached an oncoming truck, jumped out, screaming for attention. She heard a shot as she fell. Despite her injuries from the fall, she arose and ran towards the now-stopped truck, only to hear several more gunshots from Winfrey, one of which pierced her footwear and struck her toe. She fell again, this time striking her forehead, which rendered her unconscious. The truck drove away, and the driver called the police. A second vehicle arrived, the driver of which witnessed Winfrey drag the unmoving victim into the backseat of his car and escape. This driver also called police, giving them the tag number of the vehicle driven by Winfrey.
