A Walton County jury convicted Melvin Lowery of three counts of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, two additional counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary, hijacking a motor vehicle, and ten counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. Following the denial of his motion for new trial and the grant of his motion for out-of-time appeal, Lowery appeals, contending he received ineffective assistance of counsel. To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show that his counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficient performance prejudiced his defense. Strickland v. Washington , 466 U. S. 668, 687 104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674 1984. The test is whether there is a reasonable probability the jury would have reached a different verdict, absent the error of counsel. In analyzing a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, we note at the outset that a trial court’s finding that a defendant has not been denied effective assistance of counsel will be affirmed unless clearly erroneous. Further, the defendant must overcome the strong presumption that defense counsel’s conduct falls within the broad range of reasonable professional conduct. Citations and punctuation omitted. Harris v. State , _ Ga. App. _ Case No. A02A2332, decided December 3, 2002. “As a general rule, matters of reasonable tactics and strategy, whether wise or unwise, do not amount to ineffective assistance of counsel.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Grier v. State , 273 Ga. 363, 365 4 541 SE2d 369 2001. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the evidence showed the following facts. On May 11, 2000, four masked men entered the victims’ home in Walton County, threatened the victims with guns, and demanded drugs and money. The assailants bound the three victims with duct tape and moved them from room to room in their search for drugs and money. The assailants beat one victim and burned him repeatedly with an electric iron. After taking $300 from one victim, the assailants left, stealing her truck and taking the burned victim with them. Police later spotted the stolen truck and pursued the assailants. The driver of the stolen truck lost control and crashed the truck. The assailants fled into nearby woods.
Investigators arrested Lavar White in the woods. White admitted his involvement in the home invasion and named Lowery, Jarvis Thomas, and Isaac Pearson as the other assailants. Lowery and Pearson were tried together. White testified against them.
