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King v. State

The defendant strategically decided not to testify he and his trial counsel "discussed the pros and cons of testifying," including the defendant's criminal record and the opportunity for the prosecution to cross-examine him.

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A jury found Johnny King guilty of robbery and aggravated assault as the result of an attack on Charles Lunsford. King appeals, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. For reasons that follow, we disagree and affirm. Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict,1 the evidence shows that in the early morning hours of December 1, 2000, Lunsford stopped at a convenience store and, when he attempted to leave, his vehicle would not start. Lunsford determined that the vehicle needed starter fluid, which the convenience store did not sell. King and Lincoln Goldsborough, who were in the store’s parking lot, offered to take him to a nearby store to purchase starter fluid. Lunsford agreed. However, once the three men were in King’s vehicle, King drove to the parking lot of an abandoned gas station nearly eight miles away. As Lunsford got out of the vehicle, King grabbed him around the neck and said, “you dead.” They scuffled, Lunsford fell to the ground, and Goldsborough stepped on his head, leaving a shoe imprint. King and Goldsborough fled with Lunsford’s wallet. They dropped some of Lunsford’s money at the scene of the attack, where it was later recovered by law enforcement.

Lunsford was able to describe his attackers and their vehicle, including the tag. King and Goldsborough were stopped in the vehicle a few hours later. Goldsborough had blood on his shoe, and Lunsford’s ATM card was found in the vehicle’s ashtray. Later that day, King made a statement to law enforcement, claiming that he and Goldsborough gave a ride to Lunsford, but made him exit the vehicle when he began to act strangely. King stated that he pulled Lunsford from the vehicle, and after Lunsford hit him, punched Lunsford twice and drove away. King reiterated this version of events at a magistrate court hearing.

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