Weaver v. State

Dennis Waymon Weaver was found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault on his wife, second degree cruelty to his wife’s child, and obstructing his wife from making a 911 telephone call. He appeals claiming the aggravated assault and cruelty to a child verdicts were not supported by the evidence, and that the trial court erred by refusing a requested jury charge related to the aggravated assault offense. We find no error and affirm the judgment of conviction.

1. The State presented testimony from Weaver’s former wife and her minor child that Weaver, while under the influence of alcohol, was engaged in an argument with his then wife at their residence. In the presence of his wife and the child, Weaver threatened to kill them and retrieved a shotgun. Fearing for her life, Weaver’s wife ran outside the residence with a portable telephone and attempted to call 911. Weaver pulled the telephone wire out of the wall to prevent the 911 call, and with shotgun in hand pursued his wife outside calling her name. The wife and child escaped to a neighbor’s house where they called the police.