Amaechi v. State

A Gwinnett County jury found Collins Amaechi guilty of robbery by sudden snatching. On appeal, Amaechi claims the trial court’s erroneous instructions effectively prevented the jury from considering the lesser offense of theft by taking. He also claims that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. For reasons which follow, we affirm.

Viewed favorably to the verdict, the record shows that on the afternoon of December 23, 1999, Benjamin Lamkin was playing basketball with a friend, Mark Morales, outside his home. Amaechi drove up in a black Honda Civic. Lamkin and Amaechi lived in the same neighborhood and the two had been acquainted for over a year. Amaechi asked to look at Lamkin’s necklace. Standing by the car and holding the necklace, Lamkin held it out past the open driver’s side window so that Amaechi could examine it. Amaechi grabbed the necklace and put the car in gear. Lamkin stepped back from the moving car because he was afraid that it would run over his foot, and released his grip on the necklace. Amaechi then drove away while Lamkin ran after the car, yelling for Amaechi to return his necklace, but Amaechi accelerated down the street. Lamkin spoke with Amaechi over the telephone several times, demanding that he return the necklace, but Amaechi feigned ignorance. Lamkin’s mother also contacted Amaechi, and he promised to return the necklace but failed to do so. Amaechi finally told Lamkin that he would never get his necklace back.