Andrews, Judge.Following a jury trial, Edward Scott Cordle was convicted of two counts of burglary. Cordle appeals, asserting that his convictions should have been merged for purposes of sentencing. We affirm. On appeal from a criminal conviction, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict. See Coates v. State, 342 Ga. App. 148 (802 SE2d 65) (2017). So viewed, the evidence shows that on December 18, 1997, the police responded to reported burglaries at the Big C Coin Laundry and a hair salon known as the Professional Hair Center in Walker County. Both businesses were located inside the same building, separated by a wall with windows and a door. Police discovered broken windows leading to each business, as well as blood on the shattered glass and the floor.Forensic testing connected the blood recovered at the scene to Cordle. A latent fingerprint taken from a piece of broken glass also matched Cordle’s right thumb print. The police interviewed Cordle, who admitted breaking into both businesses and removing property from the hair salon. Based on the evidence presented, the jury found Cordle guilty of two counts of burglary, one involving the coin laundry, and the second involving the hair salon.In his sole enumeration of error on appeal, Cordle argues that because both burglaries occurred in the same building, “the rule of lenity and the prohibition against double jeopardy” required the trial court to merge the convictions and sentence him on only one count. As we recently noted: The question of multiple punishments (as opposed to multiple prosecutions) for the same criminal conduct is addressed under the rubric of substantive double jeopardy. Whether multiple punishment is permissible requires examination of the legislative intent underlying the criminal statute. It is for the legislature to determine to what extent certain criminal conduct has demonstrated more serious criminal interest and damaged society and to what extent it should be punished. Typically, the question is whether the same conduct may be punished under different criminal statutes. In that situation, it is appropriate to apply the “required evidence” test. However, a different question is presented here: whether a course of conduct can result in multiple violations of the same statute. That question requires a determination of the “unit of prosecution,” or the precise act or conduct that is being criminalized under the statute.
