Gregory Gaines v. State
A21A0666
| Ga. Ct. App. | Jul 23, 2021Background
- On July 5, 2014, Gregory Gaines, an inmate at Augusta State Medical Prison, attacked a corrections officer in a dormitory.
- Gaines grabbed the officer by the neck, struck her face repeatedly, dragged her to a metal bench, and slammed her head/forehead on the bench.
- The victim sustained a fractured cheekbone, broken nose, concussion, and multiple lacerations.
- Gaines was indicted and tried before the court on two counts: Count 1 aggravated assault (use of hands/objects likely to cause serious bodily injury) and Count 2 aggravated battery (maliciously causing serious disfigurement to the face).
- After a bench trial the court convicted Gaines on both counts and imposed concurrent 20-year terms; Gaines appealed solely on the ground that the offenses should have merged.
- The Court of Appeals held the two counts, as charged, arose from the exact same conduct and therefore aggravated assault was included in aggravated battery; it affirmed the battery conviction, vacated the assault conviction and sentence, and remanded for resentencing with merger.
Issues
| Issue | Gaines' Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court erred by failing to merge aggravated assault into aggravated battery | The offenses arose from the same conduct and one offense is included in the other, so they must merge | The assault (striking the face) was a completed act separate from the later battery (striking the head on the bench), so both may be punished | The court found the indictment charged both offenses by the same acts; aggravated assault is included in aggravated battery, so the assault conviction must be vacated and merged into the battery count |
Key Cases Cited
- Anderson v. State, 352 Ga. App. 275 (2019) (standard of review for evidence and principle that indictment averments are not surplusage)
- Regent v. State, 299 Ga. 172 (2016) (merger analysis: when one offense is included in another based on same conduct)
- Harris v. State, 309 Ga. 599 (2020) (trial court erred by failing to merge aggravated assault into aggravated battery based on same act)
- Hamlette v. State, 353 Ga. App. 640 (2020) (aggravated assault merged into another offense where both arose from identical conduct)