Hayes v. State

The defendant could not show prejudice with regard to his counsel's failure to request a charge on leniency to a witness, given the overwhelming evidence, counsel's thorough cross-examination of the accomplice and the trial court's general charge on credibility.

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Following a jury trial, Marcus Hayes was convicted of armed robbery,1 possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony,2 and obstruction.3 He appeals his conviction and the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Davis v. State ,4 the evidence shows that in April 2004, Hayes and two accomplices Marks and Elamin devised a plan to rob a local beauty supply store. The three men drove in Mark’s car to the shopping center where the supply store was located, and once in the parking lot, Hayes and Elamin exited the car while Marks remained behind the wheel. However, as Hayes and Elamin started toward the supply store, they noticed a woman, who appeared to be carrying a bank bag, walking toward a grocery store also in the shopping center. Changing their plan, Hayes and Elamin approached the woman, pointed a gun at her, and took her bag. As the woman began screaming, they rushed back to Marks’s waiting car, which then headed toward the parking lot exit.

As the robbery was occurring, a witness who had just finished lunch at a restaurant also in the same shopping center, heard the woman’s screams and saw Hayes and Elamin struggling with the woman before getting back into their car. The witness and his friend began following the car in their own truck toward the parking lot exit. During the brief chase, the witness and his friend called a 911 emergency operator to alert the police to the robbery and to provide a detailed description of the suspects’ car, including the license tag number. A few minutes later, a police officer, who had heard the emergency dispatch, intercepted the suspects’ car and forced it to stop. Marks was arrested immediately, but Hayes and Elamin fled. Elamin was arrested later that day, and Hayes was arrested several months afterward.

Hayes v. State

The defendant could not show prejudice with regard to his counsel's failure to request a charge on leniency to a witness, given the overwhelming evidence, counsel's thorough cross-examination of the accomplice and the trial court's general charge on credibility.

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