Gabriel Rendon-Villasana v. State, A21A1068

Background

Two separate incidents in Buckhead in 2015: June 20 (victim M.G.) and October 3–4 (victim K.H.), both involving heavily intoxicated women who believed they were entering ride‑share vehicles.
In each incident the vehicle stopped short of the intended address, a companion exited, and the driver sped off with the intoxicated or unconscious woman still inside. K.H. was recovered after police stopped the vehicle; M.G. was found later disoriented on an apartment complex sidewalk.
Sexual‑assault exams: M.G.’s vaginal/cervical swab contained male DNA consistent with semen and her tampon was missing; K.H. had male DNA on rectal, vaginal, and cervical swabs and showed bruising and disheveled clothing.
Police identified Gabriel Rendon‑Villasana as the vehicle driver from traffic‑stop video, vehicle records, items left in the SUV, and the vehicle owner’s testimony; Rendon’s DNA matched samples from both victims. Rendon admitted being in the area and to some contact but denied committing the charged offenses.
Jury convicted Rendon of kidnapping both victims, rape (M.G.) with a merged sexual‑battery count, and aggravated assault with intent to rape (K.H.). The trial court denied a motion for new trial; Rendon appealed, arguing insufficiency of the evidence and ineffective assistance for failure to request funds for a DNA expert. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency — Kidnapping	State: evidence showed abduction of unconscious/intoxicated victims and common modus operandi tying Rendon to both incidents	Rendon: no direct ID as driver in M.G. incident; victims did not testify they felt unable to leave	Court: Evidence (victim unconscious, driver sped off, DNA + similar modus operandi) sufficient to support kidnapping convictions
Sufficiency — Aggravated assault with intent to rape (K.H.)	State: assault established by unbuttoned/unzipped clothing, bruising, victim unconscious, DNA on rectal swab — intent inferable	Rendon: contact may have been prior consensual touching/dancing or occurred before vehicle entry	Court: Circumstantial evidence (intoxication, clothing disturbed, bruising, DNA, driving away) permitted jury to infer intent to rape; conviction upheld
Sufficiency — Rape (M.G.)	State: semen DNA in vaginal/cervical swabs, missing tampon, victim unconscious — constructive force sufficed	Rendon: denied intercourse; claimed no recollection and alternative explanations for DNA	Court: DNA, tampon removal, and victim’s incapacity supported rape conviction; force found in victim’s incapacity
Ineffective assistance — failure to request funds for DNA expert	State: counsel’s strategic choice not to fund expert was reasonable; no proffer of what an expert would have shown	Rendon: counsel was deficient for not seeking funds for an independent DNA expert to challenge transfer/accuracy	Court: No deficient performance or prejudice shown; decision to avoid risky expert testimony reasonable; claim fails

Key Cases Cited

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes federal standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance two‑part test: performance and prejudice)
Goodall v. State, 277 Ga. App. 600 (intent to rape can be inferred from circumstances)
Cook v. State, 338 Ga. App. 489 (constructive force where victim incapable of consenting due to intoxication)
Bester v. State, 294 Ga. 195 (DNA and personal items can sustain sexual‑offense convictions)
Pyburn v. State, 301 Ga. App. 372 (speculation insufficient to show counsel deficient for not hiring DNA expert)
Lanier v. State, 288 Ga. 109 (no deficient performance shown where only speculation supports alternate DNA result)
Lupoe v. State, 300 Ga. 233 (defendant must show how an expert would have changed the outcome to prove prejudice)
Edwards v. State, 224 Ga. App. 14 (use of similar crimes/modus operandi to prove identity)