Crapps v. State
329 Ga. App. 820
Ga. Ct. App.2014Background
- Crapps was convicted in Gwinnett County of aggravated stalking following a February 2012 incident with Erica Pass.
- Pass had a protective order against Crapps after a domestic-violence–type incident in which Crapps assaulted her and damaged her car.
- Pass later obtained a job in Gwinnett; Crapps threatened her by phone and damaged her car after Pass attempted to end contact.
- Crapps was Crapps employed Social Security disability benefits with Pass as payee; there was a dispute over continued payee designation.
- Defense theory at trial was that Crapps’s post-order contact was consensual; counsel sought Crapps’s cell phone records to support this.
- Crapps moved for a new trial arguing insufficient evidence, failure to give a curative instruction, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for aggravated stalking | Crapps’s conduct was not harassing or part of a pattern | Evidence shows a pattern of harassing behavior violating the order | Sufficient evidence supported conviction |
| Plain-error curative instruction | Trial court should have given curative instruction after Pass’s jail testimony | No preservation; no plain error | No reversible error; no plain-error exists |
| Ineffective assistance—failure to obtain phone records timely | Counsel should have secured February–July 2012 records earlier | Record insufficient to show untimeliness or prejudice | No deficient performance or prejudice shown |
| Impeachment via Pass’s first-offender status | Counsel should have used probation status to impeach bias | First-offender status cannot be used to impeach credibility absent favorable testimony | No ineffective assistance; evidence inadmissible for impeachment |
Key Cases Cited
- Castaneira v. State, 321 Ga. App. 418 (Ga. App. 2013) (standard for sufficiency when evidence supports a guilty verdict)
- State v. Burke, 287 Ga. 377 (Ga. 2010) (pattern-of-harassing-and-intimidating conduct element)
- Louisyr v. State, 307 Ga. App. 724 (Ga. App. 2011) (prior history admissible to show pattern; evidence of prior conduct)
- Slaughter v. State, 327 Ga. App. 593 (Ga. App. 2014) (single-day or series of acts can establish pattern of harassment)
- Nosratifard v. State, 320 Ga. App. 564 (Ga. App. 2013) (text threats contributing to fear of safety can show pattern)
- Oliver v. State, 325 Ga. App. 649 (Ga. App. 2014) (course-of-conduct analysis within a single day can establish pattern)
- Miller v. State, 295 Ga. 769 (Ga. 2014) (unrequested curative instruction not reversible error)
- Martin v. State, 281 Ga. 778 (Ga. 2007) (preservation requirement for trial objections)
- Smith v. State, 276 Ga. 263 (Ga. 2003) (impeachment considerations regarding first-offender status)
- Ferguson v. State, 307 Ga. App. 232 (Ga. App. 2010) (evidence and character considerations during trial)
- Forrester v. State, 255 Ga. App. 456 (Ga. App. 2002) (relationship between evidence and character in trial)