Jones v. the State
329 Ga. App. 478
Ga. Ct. App.2014Background
- At ~2:00 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2004, a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and a white cloth over his lower face robbed a convenience store at gunpoint; two clerks observed the robber’s distinctive, erratic-looking eyes.
- Three days earlier and three blocks away, a restaurant robbery occurred; one suspect in that incident was Wesley L. Jones and his co-defendant was tied to that scene by a fingerprint.
- A robbery sergeant prepared a photographic lineup that included Jones; the convenience store clerk identified Jones from the lineup and again at trial.
- The State introduced a certified copy of Jones’s conviction for the earlier (restaurant) armed robbery and the lead detective testified about the prior robbery during trial as similar-transaction evidence.
- Jones was convicted of armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; he appealed claiming insufficient evidence, defective notice of similar-transaction evidence, erroneous admission of hearsay, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Jones) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence | ID unreliable because the clerk only saw his eyes; identification tenuous | Identification by lineup and at trial plus corroborating circumstances sufficient | Affirmed; viewing evidence for jury, single witness ID may suffice |
| Failure to give 10-day notice for similar-transaction evidence | Notice mailed 7 days before trial; trial court abused discretion shortening rule | Trial court properly shortened time; defendant had prior trial and same counsel so no prejudice | Affirmed; no abuse of discretion in shortening notice period |
| Admission of detective’s testimony as hearsay | Detective related out-of-court statements and witness identifications from prior robbery; hearsay | Detective investigated prior crime and had personal knowledge; portions admissible; some statements fall under res gestae | |
| Held: court found most testimony admissible; some statements were hearsay but error harmless due to certified conviction and other admissible testimony | |||
| Ineffective assistance of counsel for not objecting to hearsay | Counsel’s failure to object was deficient and prejudicial | Even assuming deficiency, no reasonable probability of a different result if counsel had objected | Affirmed; Strickland not satisfied — no reasonable probability of different outcome |
Key Cases Cited
- English v. State, 301 Ga. App. 842 (appellate sufficiency review standard)
- Miller v. State, 273 Ga. 831 (some competent evidence—even if contradicted—supports verdict)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance standard)
- Castellon v. State, 240 Ga. App. 85 (investigating officer’s personal-knowledge testimony not hearsay)
- Inman v. State, 281 Ga. 67 (harmless error where hearsay cumulative of certified conviction)
- Bryant v. State, 226 Ga. App. 135 (trial court discretion to shorten notice for similar transactions)
- Perry v. State, 314 Ga. App. 575 (certified conviction alone may be insufficient to show similarity without additional evidence)