A jury found Alejandro Navarro guilty of two counts of aggravated assault and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to children. On appeal, Navarro raises thirteen enumerations of error, alleging that: 1 the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress; 2 the prosecutor made improper remarks during closing arguments; 3 the trial court improperly instructed the jury; and 4 he received ineffective assistance of counsel. As we find these allegations of error to be without merit, we affirm. Viewed in a light favorable to the jury’s verdict, the record shows that just past midnight on November 27, 2003, Andy Espinal rode with his wife, brother, friend, and two sons to a Circle K convenience store. Espinal, his brother, and the two children exited the car. The group was approached by two men, including Navarro, who was wielding a baseball bat. The men asked Espinal, “what gang do you belong to” Espinal informed the men that he did not belong to a gang and wanted no trouble, and he tried to back away with his children. Navarro swung the baseball bat toward Espinal’s brother, but missed. Navarro then swung the bat toward Espinal, and he struck Espinal in the back of the head, causing serious injury. Espinal’s two boys, age six and nine, were crying, and the younger boy soiled himself. Two witnesses —a store clerk and another shopper —witnessed the incident and corroborated Espinal’s story.
Navarro and the other man fled the scene in two cars —a white Chevrolet and a red Ford Mustang. The police ultimately discovered two cars generally matching that description parked in an apartment complex parking lot. Officer Jeff Johnston determined the owner of the Mustang lived in one of the apartments. He knocked on the door, and Navarro answered. Johnston spoke with Navarro, who admitted to being a gang member. Navarro told Johnston that he had wielded the bat, but claimed that he was defending himself during a fight with a rival gang. According to Johnston, Navarro “said that he just got scared, began swinging the bat, and . . . that he didn’t even know if he hit anyone because he had his eyes closed as he was swinging the bat.” Based upon this and other evidence, the jury found Navarro guilty of one count of aggravated assault for attempting to strike Espinal’s brother with a bat, one count of aggravated assault for striking Espinal with the bat, and two counts of cruelty to children for committing the assaults in front of Espinal’s two children.
