A Fulton County jury found Sean Bonakies guilty of concealing the death of another; he was acquitted on additional charges of murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He appeals from his conviction, contending solely that the trial court erred in denying his plea in bar and motion for acquittal based upon what he claims was a statutory speedy trial demand he filed pro se from jail prior to his representation by counsel. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that Bonakies’ demand was insufficient, and we affirm his conviction. Apparently, Bonakies was originally indicted on August 2, 2002. Bonakies’ pro se demand was filed in Fulton County Superior Court on August 28, 2002. The demand was captioned, “Demand By Accused For Speedy Trial Under The Sixth And Fourteenth Amendments Of The Constitution.” The body of the demand again identifies it as “pursuant to the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U. S. Constitution” and then “asks that he be tried at this term or at the next term of this court.” The demand is filed under an arrest warrant number and does not identify the charges sought to be tried. Bonakies mailed the demand to the Clerk of Fulton County Superior Court, 185 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303. While the demand certifies that Bonakies also mailed a copy of the demand to the “District Attorney Office of Fulton County,” it is undisputed that he mailed it to the wrong address. The court clerk replied to Bonakies’ filing via a short letter which stated that his demand had been “forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office” and to the Public Defender’s Office; the clerk’s reply also stated that Bonakies’ case was “Unindicted,” and no charges or other identification were included. There is no evidence that the District Attorney’s Office received the demand.
Fulton County Superior Court has six terms of criminal court each year: January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/December.1 At the hearing on the plea in bar, Bonakies’ attorney, Thomas S. Robinson III, stated that “Mr. Bonakies’ case had been already indicted, which is required, and on November 12th 2002, this case was called for trial and he announced ready through his counsel.” There is no evidence in the record that Bonakies was represented by any attorney other than Robinson, and the record contains no evidence supporting Mr. Robinson’s claim that he announced Bonakies ready for trial on November 12, 2002. The record does contain Mr. Robinson’s affidavit accounting for his services on behalf of Mr. Bonakies, which Robinson certified was “true and accurate”; from this accounting, it appears Mr. Robinson began his representation of Bonakies on November 17, 2002, and he made his first court appearance on Bonakies’ behalf on January 14, 2003. Held :
