Regent v. the State, 333 Ga. App. 350

Regent pled guilty to aggravated assault (use of a knife) and aggravated battery for violently attacking his girlfriend, including slashing her throat multiple times and inflicting deep hand wounds.
Victim required intensive care, surgeries, suffered nerve severance, facial numbness, loss of taste, and ongoing difficulty speaking, eating, and swallowing.
At plea hearing, facts established both the knife wounds (deadly weapon) and the severe, disfiguring, and disabling injuries (rendering a body member useless).
Trial court sentenced Regent to 20 years with 12 to serve for aggravated assault, plus a consecutive 10 years for aggravated battery.
Sentencing included a special probation condition banishing Regent from the entire state except Toombs County.
After a federal habeas grant (denial of appellate counsel), Regent appealed, challenging merger of convictions and the statewide banishment condition.

Issue	Regent's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether aggravated assault and aggravated battery must merge	Convictions rely on the same facts and should merge	The two crimes have distinct elements; both may be punished separately	No merger; convictions and sentences affirmed
Validity of banishment from entire state except Toombs County	Banishing him from the whole state (except one county) violates OCGA § 42-8-35(a)(6)(A)	Banishment is a valid probation condition as imposed	Banishment provision vacated; remanded to resentence to an authorized area (at least one full judicial circuit)

Nazario v. State, 293 Ga. 480 (2013) (guilty plea limits record for merger review)
Drinkard v. Walker, 281 Ga. 211 (2006) (required-evidence test for merger)
Thomas v. State, 292 Ga. 429 (2013) (application of required-evidence test)
Works v. State, 301 Ga. App. 108 (2009) (separate punishment allowed for aggravated assault and aggravated battery)
Robbins v. State, 293 Ga. App. 584 (2008) (same: offenses remain distinct despite arising from the same act)