Johnson v. State

The trial court's erroneous charge regarding the number of witnesses and exhibits was harmless in light of the charge as a whole which clearly advised the jury of the state's burden of proof.

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An Augusta County jury convicted Pamela Denise Johnson of three counts of financial transaction card theft, one count of forgery in the first degree and one count of giving a false name. She was sentenced consecutively to 20 years confinement. The defendant appeals from the superior court’s denial of her motion for new trial, as amended, contending that the superior court: 1 erred because the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions of financial transaction card theft three counts and forgery in the first degree one count; 2 erred in that he was denied effective assistance of counsel; 3 erred in charging the jury it could consider the number of witnesses and exhibits on each side of the case; and 4 erred in charging the jury as to circumstantial evidence. Finding defendant’s claims of error to be without merit, we affirm.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979, showed that the defendant and a male companion entered an Augusta insurance agency in the late afternoon of July 28, 1995. The defendant asked to use the restroom and, although she had no business to conduct, was permitted to enter a secured work area where restrooms were located. At that time the victim left the area to go on break. Once in the restroom, the defendant remained there not more than a minute before exiting, running from the restroom to her victim’s empty desk. She doubled over in the victim’s chair while clutching her stomach and, nearly in tears, stated that she thought she was pregnant and was having trouble. As she did so, she turned in the direction of the victim’s purse which was located on the floor under the victim’s typewriter. From an adjacent desk, a nearby worker described the episode as ending as suddenly as it had begun: “The defendant jumped up quickly, like I say and said she was fine.” Twenty minutes after the defendant departed, the victim discovered her wallet and all its contents missing, including two credit cards.

Johnson v. State

The trial court's erroneous charge regarding the number of witnesses and exhibits was harmless in light of the charge as a whole which clearly advised the jury of the state's burden of proof.

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