Raymond v. State
322 Ga. App. 404
Ga. Ct. App.2013Background
- James Raymond, president and incorporator of Vision for Kids, Inc. d/b/a Caribbean Food Store (CFS), operated Western Union and MoneyGram terminals at CFS.
- Large volumes of Western Union and MoneyGram receipts and transactions were linked to operator IDs “JAM” (Western Union) and “JAMES” (MoneyGram); investigators found boxes of receipts and two large MoneyGram deposit bundles in Raymond’s possession when arrested.
- Multiple victims testified they wired money for loans, vehicles, pets, or other purchases and never received goods or refunds; MoneyGram records showed 445 received transactions at CFS and Western Union records showed 140 problematic transfers.
- Indictment charged 21 counts of theft by taking: counts 1–15 (MoneyGram, Jan–Sep 2008) and counts 16–21 (Western Union, Dec 2006–Sep 2007).
- At trial the State introduced Western Union and MoneyGram spreadsheets as business records; defense raised discovery and foundation objections and later claimed ineffective assistance for counsel’s handling of these issues.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of the evidence to support theft convictions | Evidence proves Raymond orchestrated and benefited from frauds via CFS terminals | Raymond contends lack of direct proof he personally processed transactions; others could have done so | Evidence (records, deposits, receipts, victim testimony) was sufficient; convictions affirmed |
| Admissibility of Western Union and MoneyGram records as business records | Records reliably created in ordinary course; proper foundation laid | Raymond objected to foundation for Western Union doc; did not preserve specific foundational objection; waived MoneyGram objection at admission | Western Union exhibit issue not preserved; MoneyGram exhibit properly admitted; admission not an abuse of discretion |
| Discovery violations for boxes of seized documents not produced pretrial | State failed to disclose four boxes of seized documents and should be sanctioned | State says prior counsel inspected boxes; trial counsel later reviewed them during trial; any failure inadvertent | No reversible error: prior counsel had access and trial counsel reviewed boxes during trial; no sanction required |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to timely object to records and not seeking continuance | Counsel’s omissions prejudiced Raymond’s defense | Trial court: objections would have been meritless (records admissible) and counsel had opportunity to review materials; performance reasonable | Strickland test not met; counsel’s performance not deficient or prejudicial; claim rejected |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency review)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective-assistance two-prong test)
- Nangreave v. State, 318 Ga. App. 437 (state not required to exclude every possibility of innocence)
- Tauch v. State, 305 Ga. App. 643 (circumstantial evidence may suffice; jury question whether it excludes reasonable hypotheses)
- Smith v. State, 302 Ga. App. 128 (trial-court evidentiary rulings reviewed for abuse of discretion)
- Tolver v. State, 269 Ga. 530 (foundation objections must specify the deficiency to preserve issue)
- Johnson v. State, 266 Ga. 775 (business-records foundation requirements)
- Isbell v. Credit Nation Lending Svc., 319 Ga. App. 19 (business-records admissibility)
- Horton v. State, 269 Ga. App. 407 (failure to contemporaneously object waives challenge)
- Davenport v. State, 316 Ga. App. 234 (appellate review of ineffective-assistance claims)
- Williams v. State, 289 Ga. 672 (meritless objections do not establish ineffective assistance)