Ogle v. State

A Pierce County jury found Johnny Ray Ogle guilty of armed robbery for his participation in such act at Lairsey’s Quick Change convenience store in Blackshear. Without challenging the sufficiency of the evidence against him, he appeals and claims that the trial court erred in permitting the State to introduce State’s Exhibit Number 2, a chrome plated .357 magnum handgun, because a proper chain of custody was not established; that the trial court erroneously admitted Ogle’s statement to the police given in violation of Miranda;1 that the trial court erred in considering his criminal record during sentencing without notice of aggravation being provided pursuant to OCGA § 17-10-2 a; and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Each of these alleged errors is meritless, and we affirm.

1. “A weapon may be admissible if the identification is sufficient to allow the jury to decide, under the evidence relative to identification, whether it is the identical weapon used by the defendant.”2 Here, a videotape of the incident captured by the convenience store’s surveillance camera shows that, at approximately 8:30 p.m. on February 14, 1998, a chrome plated .357 magnum handgun with a wooden handle was used to perpetrate an armed robbery of Lairsey’s Quick Change convenience store. The store clerk identified State’s Exhibit 2 as looking like the gun that was used.