Mitchell v. State

Eugene Mitchell was indicted for armed robbery and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. A jury convicted him on both counts, and the trial court sentenced him to serve 12 years for the armed robbery, and five years concurrently for the knife possession. Mitchell appeals, arguing that insufficient evidence supports his conviction, that admitting evidence at trial of his post-arrest silence violated his privilege against self-incrimination; that his identification as a suspect at a “show-up” violated his due process rights; that the Valdosta Police Department policy of destroying field notes violated his due process and confrontation rights; that his trial counsel was ineffective; and that he was denied his right to be defended by counsel of his own selection. After considering each of these enumerations, we affirm.

We view the evidence on appeal in the light most favorable to the verdict, and no longer presume the defendant is innocent. We do not weigh the evidence or decide the witnesses’ credibility, but only determine if the evidence is sufficient to sustain the convictions. Taylor v. State, 226 Ga. App. 254, 255 485 SE2d 830 1997.