A jury found Charlotte Lee guilty of two counts of armed robbery, and she pled guilty to giving a false statement to a police officer. Following the denial of her motion for new trial, Lee appeals. She contends that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a directed verdict of acquittal and in allowing evidence of an unindicted armed robbery to be used against her as a similar transaction. Lee also complains that her trial counsel was ineffective in failing to move to sever her trial from that of her co-defendant, Nathan Walker.1 We find no merit in Lee’s contentions, and we affirm her convictions. 1. Lee first maintains that the State failed to present proof beyond a reasonable doubt that she was a party to either armed robbery with which she was charged. The standard of review for the denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is the same as for determining the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. 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 Citations and punctuation omitted. Sullivan v. State , 277 Ga. App. 738-739 627 SE2d 437 2006.
Three individuals were charged in the armed robberies. Lee was tried jointly with Walker.2 Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the evidence presented at trial and relevant to this appeal showed that on August 26, 2003, a Payless shoe store was robbed by two men, who fled in a white Chevrolet Cavalier. A store employee positively identified photographs of the car at trial. Two days later, a pizza restaurant was robbed at gunpoint by two men. While the robbery was taking place, a delivery employee was returning to the store. He observed what was occurring and saw two men flee in a white Chevrolet Cavalier with damage to the front end. This employee was able to see the numbers 628 on the license plate of the Cavalier, and he immediately called the police. He identified photographs of the car with license tag 628LEW at trial.
