Spencer v. State, 328 Ga. App. 1

Anthony Spencer was convicted of two counts of armed robbery and one count of aggravated assault after a jury trial.
Co-conspirators Maggie Denham and Devin James were involved; Denham pled guilty and testified for the State.
Employees of an Asian restaurant were robbed at a terrace-level apartment; gun was used; Spencer allegedly participated.
Evidence showed Spencer admitted involvement and knowledge of the planned robbery; objected to admissibility of custodial statements.
James and Denham pled guilty; Denham agreed to testify; James admitted involvement in the plan; Spencer was sentenced to twenty years with ten to serve.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Voluntariness of custodial statement	Spencer argues statements were involuntary due to youth and intoxication	Spencer claims impairment invalidates waiver	Court found statement voluntary under totality of circumstances.
Lesser included offense of robbery by intimidation	Spencer sought charge on intimidation since he was present	No evidence of gunless robbery; no charge warranted	Trial court properly denied instruction on robbery by intimidation.
Treating co-conspirator as a hostile witness	State should not treat Denham as hostile	Denham invoked Fifth Amendment protection but was compelled by plea	Trial court did not abuse discretion in treating Denham as hostile.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency standard for evidence to sustain a conviction)
Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (U.S. 1964) (reliability of pretrial admissibility determinations)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966) (requirements for custodial interrogation and waiver of rights)
Norton v. State, 293 Ga. 332 (Ga. 2013) (admissibility of statements under state law; corroborates voluntariness standard)
Ellis v. State, 274 Ga. 852 (Ga. 2002) (waiver of rights, interpretation of voluntariness in light of education/ability)