S24A0560. BAKER v. THE STATE. S24A0582. LAGUERRE v. THE STATE.
S24A0560, S24A0582
In the Supreme Court of Georgia
Decided: October 22, 2024
PINSON, Justice.
NOTICE: This оpinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court Rule 27, the Court‘s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any prior version on the Court‘s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and official text of the opinion.
Prentice Baker and Verlaine Laguerre were convicted of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for the shooting death of Matthew Hаrdeman. The evidence at trial showed that on the day of the shooting, Hardeman and Laguerre got into a fistfight in front of the home of Andrew “Cali” Ellis, a mutual friend and Hardeman‘s neighbor. Everyone agreed Hardeman “won” the fight, and Laguerre left after it ended. Later that day, Laguerre returned with Baker and others to Hardeman‘s neighborhood, where Baker and Laguerre encountered Hardeman in front of Ellis‘s home and shot Hardeman multiple times, killing him.1
Each claim fails. Baker and Laguerre have not established plain error because the evidence they marshal to show that Ellis was an accomplice — mostly evidence that Ellis had a relationship with the defendants and victim and was at the crime scene, and Hardeman‘s friend‘s speculation that Ellis “probably[] got something to do with” the shooting — did not obviously call for a sua sponte instruction on accomplice corroboration. Baker‘s sufficiency claim fails because the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions. Laguerre has failed to establish that trial counsel performed deficiently by not objecting to a witness‘s testimony about the witness‘s fear of the defendants because counsel‘s decision to use that testimony later in support of the overall defense strategy was objectively reasonable. And without any errors to assess cumulatively, Laguerre‘s claim of cumulative error fails. So we affirm Baker‘s and Laguerre‘s convictions and sentenсes.
1. Background
(a) The Crimes
On October 15, 2011, Hardeman hung out at his sister‘s home with three friends: Willie Wimby, Dentrayquise “Tray” Clark, and Andre “Dre” Anderson. On the same day, Ellis, who was Hardeman‘s sister‘s neighbor, had “a bunch of people” at his home, including Laguerre. Hardeman and Ellis had met before through Hardeman‘s sister. At first, Hardeman and Ellis had hung out together, but that stopped when Hardeman started spending time with Wimby. Ellis had warned Hardeman not to hang out with Wimby because, according to Ellis, Wimby “was into a lot of stuff.”
At some point on October 15, Hardeman, Wimby, Clark, and Anderson walked by Ellis‘s home while Ellis and Laguerre were outside. According to Ellis, Hardeman said to Laguerre “something like, ‘What are you looking at me for’ or whatever.”
Later that day, Hаrdeman and Laguerre got into a fistfight in the road in front of Ellis‘s home. Clark, Wimby, Anderson, and Clark‘s mother all saw the fight. They did not use weapons, but Anderson saw Hardeman hand a pistol to Ellis before the fight and then saw Ellis return the pistol to Hardeman after the fight. Everyone who saw the fight agreed that Hardeman “won.”
According to Ellis, Laguerre said after the fight that he was going to get “his redeye,” meaning his gun, and Ellis told Laguerre, “You lose some; just fight [Hardeman] another day.” Ellis also testified that he blamed Wimby for the fight “because he‘s the one who got in [Hardeman‘s] head” that he needed to fight Laguerre. Anderson testified that, after the fight, he heard Laguerre say, “I‘m from Miami, the murder capital. I‘m going to kill you.”
Soon after the fight, Laguerre left the neighborhood. Ellis testified that after Laguerre
After the fight, Hardeman, Clark, Anderson, and Wimby returned to Hardeman‘s sister‘s home. Clark told Hardeman to stay inside, and Clark and Anderson left and returned to their home. Wimby stayed with Hardeman.
Meanwhile, Ellis went inside his own home for 15 to 20 minutes, then came back outside. Soon after, Laguerre‘s brother and Baker came to Ellis‘s home looking for Hardeman. Ellis knew Baker because Ellis, Baker, and Laguerre once lived near each other in a different neighborhood and had hung out together in the past. Ellis testified that Baker had “a little pistol” with him that day, and Baker asked where Hardeman was. Ellis lied and told Baker that Hardeman left after the fight. But while Baker was still at Ellis‘s home, Hardeman and Wimby came outside.
According to Wimby, he and Hardeman came outside and heard “the suspects” yell “y‘all p***y n****s turn around” and he and Hardeman turned around and saw Laguerre and another person walking down the street toward them with two other people following behind them in a car. Laguerre had a rifle that Wimby thought was an “AK-47.” The person wаlking with Laguerre took out a handgun and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire at first. The same person cocked the gun again and shot Hardeman. According to Wimby, “the guy who shot [Hardeman] the first time started shooting him some more. Then the guy who [Hardeman] got in the fight with bring [sic] out the AK-47.” Wimby did not know either of the shooters by name but recognized Laguerre because Laguerre would hang out with Ellis, so Wimby said he thought Ellis “probably, got something to do with the s**t right now.”
According to Ellis, after Wimby and Hardeman came outside, Laguerre “and them” came around the corner in a car and Laguerre “jumped out the back with a gun.” Baker then cocked his gun, but when he pulled the trigger, it jammed. Baker pulled the trigger again and shot Hаrdeman in the head. Laguerre fired his gun too, and Ellis heard 40 or more shots. Laguerre and Baker then got back in the car and drove away. Ellis saw about six people in the car, and three of them — Baker, Laguerre, and someone else — had guns.
After the shooting, Ellis went back inside his home. The police arrived and sealed off the area outside Ellis‘s home. Ellis did not tell the police what he saw at first. But that night, Hardeman‘s sister, who had been away from home during the shooting, came to Ellis and asked him what happened. He told her he could not “get involved” because he would have to “go to war with them” and they would kill him, but he gave her Laguerre‘s name and address. Hardеman‘s sister gave that information to the police, and Ellis later spoke to the police and gave them the same address.
(b) Photo Lineups
Two days after the shooting, Ellis was shown two photo lineups and identified Baker and Laguerre as the men who shot Hardeman.
Rosa Clark, Tray Clark‘s mother, was also shown two photo lineups. She did not know Laguerre‘s name, but she had seen him hanging out with Ellis, whom she knew only by his nickname, “Cali.” Two days after the shooting, Rosa viewed a lineup and identified Ellis as the person she knew as “Cali.” She viewed another lineup and identified Laguerre as the person she saw Hardeman fight on October 15. Rosa testified that she had been between 50 and 100 perсent sure of her identification of Laguerre at the time she made it. She also identified Laguerre in the courtroom as the person she saw fight Hardeman. Rosa did not remember ever seeing Baker in the neighborhood, including at the time of the fight between Hardeman and Laguerre. She did not see who shot Hardeman.
Wimby viewed three photo lineups after the shoоting. In the first lineup, he identified Ellis as the person he knew as “Cali.” He viewed a second lineup and did not make an identification. And he viewed a third lineup where he identified Laguerre as the person who fought Hardeman and shot him with an AK-47-style gun.
(c) Ballistics and Autopsy Evidence
Cara McCarthy, an expert in firearms and ballistics analysis, received and analyzed evidence collected from the crime scene. She identified 14 .223-caliber cartridge cases, which she determined were all fired from the same weapon. McCarthy explained that .223-caliber bullets are typically fired from a rifle or long gun designed to be fired from the shoulder but that some pistols can fire .223-caliber bullets too. McCаrthy also identified ten .380-caliber automatic cartridge cases, all of which she determined were fired from the same weapon and are typically fired from a handgun. McCarthy also identified a .380-caliber metal bullet jacket, but she explained that there was no way to tell if that bullet was connected to any of the ten .380-caliber cartridge cases that were submitted for analysis. Finally, McCarthy identified four .22-caliber cartridge cases, all of which she determined were fired from the same weapon.
McCarthy also received bullets or fragments that were collected during Hardeman‘s autopsy and submitted to the GBI for testing. The identifiable bullets includеd multiple .380-caliber bullets and fragments and one .22-caliber bullet fragment.
Associate medical examiner Dr. Michael Heniger, an expert in forensic pathology, reviewed Hardeman‘s autopsy, which had been completed by someone else. In reviewing the autopsy, Dr. Heniger estimated that Hardeman had at least 20 or 25 gunshot wounds and determined his cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the head, torso, and extremities.
(d) The Defendants’ Testimony
Each defendant testified at trial. Baker denied being anywhere near the crime scene on October 15, 2011. He testified that he knew Laguerre and Ellis, but said he had never been to Ellis‘s home and had not hung out with Laguerre since 2009 or 2010.
Laguеrre testified that he had never visited Ellis‘s home, did not own a gun, and did not know Hardeman, Wimby, or many of the other witnesses who testified at trial. He denied both fighting Hardeman earlier in the day and shooting him.
2. Claims of Instructional Error
Baker and Laguerre each contend that the trial court plainly erred by not sua sponte instructing the jury on accomplice corroboration because there was at least slight evidence that Ellis was an accomplice to the shooting of Hardeman.
Under our Evidence Code, “[t]he testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact.”
Here, the trial court instructed the jury about the single-witness rule, but not about the accomplice-corroboration exception. Baker and Laguerre now contend that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on accomplice corroboration based on evidence that they contеnd showed Ellis was a potential accomplice. But they concede that neither of them asked the trial court to give this instruction or objected to its omission, so this claim of instructional error is reviewed for plain error. See
To establish plain error, Baker and Laguerre must show that the alleged error was not affirmatively waived; was “clear and obvious beyond reasonable dispute“; and likely affected the outcome of the trial. Johnson v. State, 319 Ga. 562, 567 (1) (-- SE2d --) (2024). If those three requirements are satisfied, the appellate court has the discretion to remedy the error only if it “seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. Failure to establish any one of these requirements means that a defendant has not established plain error. Id.
(a) When a defendant asks for a particular jury instruction, a trial court must give the instruction if “slight evidence” supports the theory of the charge. Hamm v. State, 294 Ga. 791, 794 (2) (756 SE2d 507) (2014). This includes when a defendant asks for an instruction on the principle of accomplice corroboration under
But if a defendant does not ask for an instruction on accomplice corroboration and does not object to its omission at trial, the inquiry on appeal is different. In such cases, the trial court‘s omission is reviewed only for plain error,
(b) Applying the proper standard here, the trial court did not make a clear and obvious error by not instructing the jury sua sponte on accomplice corroboration because the evidence did not obviously call for such an instruction.
Baker and Laguerre contend that there was evidence that Ellis — the only witness to identify Baker as one of the shooters — was an accomplice. In support, they point to (1) evidence of Ellis‘s interactions with Laguerre, including that he held Laguerre‘s pistol during the fight with Hardeman, said afterwards that there was “going to be some gun play,” was present аt the shooting later that day, and did not call for police or medical assistance or talk to police right after the shooting; and (2) Wimby‘s testimony that Ellis “probably” had “something to do with” the murder.
This evidence did not “obviously call for” a sua sponte instruction on accomplice corroboration. Had either defendant developed and presented a theory at trial that Ellis was an accomplice, it is perhaps conceivable that they might have picked out these snippets of evidence about Ellis from the substantial record at trial and then asked a jury to connect all of those dots and infer that Ellis shared the criminal intent to shoot Hardeman. Such evidence, if marshaled and presented at trial, might have added up to slight evidence that would have required giving an instruction on accomplice corroboration if either defendant had asked for one. But neither defendant presented that evidence in support of an argument that Ellis was an accomplice.2 And viewed in the context of the trial record as a whole, we cannot say that such evidence
Baker and Laguerrе emphasize Wimby‘s testimony that Ellis “probably, got something to do with the s**t right now,” but that statement, despite being plucked from Wimby‘s lengthy testimony, was bare speculation not based on any specifics about Ellis‘s alleged involvement in the shooting — or any facts in evidence — that would suggest that Ellis “actively participated in” the shooting and shared either defendant‘s criminal intent to kill Hardeman. Instead, Wimby‘s only stated basis for his testimony was Ellis‘s association with Laguerre, which is not itself enough to show common criminal intent. See Lofton, 309 Ga. at 352 (1). And it is even more of a stretch to conclude that this statement (or any of this evidence) showed that Ellis shared a criminal intent to commit the crime with Baker, whom Wimby had nеver seen before and did not identify as one of
the shooters. In short, given the evidence presented at trial, the trial court did not commit a clear and obvious error by not giving an instruction on accomplice corroboration without a request. See Ash, 312 Ga. at 796 (5) (b). Absent a clear and obvious error, neither Baker nor Laguerre have established plain error, so their claims fail.3. Baker‘s Sufficiency Claim
Baker contends that the evidence was not sufficient as a matter of constitutional due process to convict him of malice murder and firearm possession. He also contends that Ellis was an accomplice and Ellis‘s uncorroborated testimony was the only evidence that identified Baker as one of the shooters, so Baker‘s identity was not established as a matter of fact under
When we review the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of constitutional due process, we review the evidence as a whole in the light most favorable to the verdict. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (III) (B) (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). Our evaluation of the sufficiency of the evidence is independent of the alleged instructional error. See, e.g., Doyle, 307 Ga. at 611 (1) (evidence was sufficient as a matter of constitutional due process independent of whether the alleged accomplice‘s testimony was corroborated and regardless of the trial court‘s plain error by failing to give an accomplice corroboration instruction).
Even assuming Baker‘s argument that the evidence was not constitutionally sufficient because of the operation of the statutory accomplice-corroboration rule,3 we still view the evidence at trial in the light most favorable to the verdict. See Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319 (III) (B). And viewed in that light, the evidence at trial showed that Ellis was merely present for the fistfight and shooting, not an accomplice whose testimony required corroboration. See
See also Reese, 317 Ga. at 198 (3); Horton, 310 Ga. at 323 (3) (c); Lofton, 309 Ga. at 352 (1). And so Ellis‘s identification of Baker as the shooter with the pistol was sufficient on its own to establish that fact. See
4. Laguerre‘s Ineffectiveness Claims
Laguerre contends that his trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance because she did not object, move for mistrial, or seek a curative instruction in response to several statements by Wimby about his fear of the defendants. Laguerre contends that counsel should have objected to Wimby‘s statements as irrelevant under
To succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show that his counsel‘s performance was deficient and caused him prejudice. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (III) (104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984). See also Harmon v. State, 319 Ga. 259, 265 (3) (903 SE2d 28) (2024). To be deficient, an attorney‘s conduct must be “objectively unreasonable under the circumstances.” See Harmon, 319 Ga. at 265 (3). See also Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689-690 (III) (A). To show prejudice, the defendant must establish “a reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have bеen different absent counsel‘s deficient performance.” See Harmon, 319 Ga. at 265 (3). See also Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694-695 (III) (B).
(a) Wimby made the following statements at trial, none of which counsel objected to, which Laguerre now contends was constitutionally ineffective assistance of trial counsel:
On direct examination, the prosecutor asked Wimby:
Q. Did you know who the guy with the AK-looking gun hung around with?
A. Yeah; [Ellis, aka] Cali. Cali is the one who gave them all the information. I don‘t even know how the f**k Cali is on the witness stand like he‘s just my f**king friend and telling the truth.
He, probably, got something to do with the s**t right now; they getting locked up right now. He‘s, probably, going to be the reason I get killed. This they first time ever seeing me ever since this happened.
They didn‘t know how I looked. I had to change my whole f***ing face, drеads and everything, just so they don‘t know who the f**k I am.
But, now, [Baker and Laguerre] know who I am. They done seen me; everybody. Nobody had seen me since the day that s**t happened. Now, I done showed myself, who the f**k is going to protect me?
On cross-examination, Laguerre‘s attorney asked:
Q. So do you realize that you were on the train all this time with Mr. Laguerre?
A. On the train? That‘s what you said?
Q. Yeah.
A. With that being said, he‘s been knowing how I look.
Q. He sees you on the MARTA train all the time.
A. Check this, that‘s a whole got [sic] damn lie. The wаy this man feeling right now, I am the only person he really want to find in order to beat his case.
If he had a gun right now, this man will shoot the s**t out of me right now in order for me not to be up here telling this story, ma‘am. Those boys you‘re talking about your clients see me on the train, ma‘am, it‘s a whole lie.
Finally, on further cross-examination, Laguerre‘s attorney asked:
Q. You are not under the impression that anybody knows where you live right now?
A. I am all the way under the impression that y‘all know exactly where I‘m at. Yes, I do feel scared for my life. Now that I know that he‘s out on bond and all that and I go home, guess what, he‘s going home, too.
But guess what make it even better, now, [Laguerre] know how I look. He‘s out on bond. I‘m scared for my life. Do I get any type of protective custody or anything? I‘m so scared. Is anybody going to help me?
At the hearing on Laguerre‘s motion for new trial, his trial counsel testified about the defense strategy, saying the focus was “identity; that [Laguerre] did not commit the offense” or participate in the fight with Hardeman earlier that day. Counsel recalled that Wimby “was acting very bizarre” at trial and “was not answering questions.” She explained that Wimby “had gone into sort of a stream of consciousness and just started saying a number of disparaging things, and was concerned about his safety,” and that “[h]e was acting irrationally, in [counsel‘s] opinion.” Counsel testified that shе did not object to these comments, ask for a curative instruction, or move for mistrial, and when asked if she had a strategic reason not to do so, said “no.” She did, however, ask Wimby on cross-examination about riding MARTA with Laguerre (and later elicited testimony from Laguerre that he regularly encountered Wimby on MARTA without incident while Laguerre was out on bond after the shooting). And she testified that she did so to undermine Wimby‘s statement that Laguerre was someone he should fear and that Laguerre might kill him.
(b) Notwithstanding counsel‘s subjective evaluation of her performance, deficiency under Strickland is evaluated on an objective basis. See Richardson v. State, 318 Ga. 690, 697 n.7 (2) (b) (899 SE2d 685) (2024). And objectively, counsel‘s decision not to object but instead to question Wimby and Laguerre about encounters on MARTA to “undermine” his supposed fear of Laguerre was not an unreasonable strategy regardless of the merits of any possible objection that could have been raised under Rules 401 through 404 or as an improper comment on future dangerousness. See Gaston v. State, 307 Ga. 634, 642 (2) (d) (837 SE2d 808) (2020) (“Decisions about cross-examination do not amount to deficient performance unless they are so unreasonable that no competent attorney would have made them under similar circumstances.“) (citation and punctuation omitted). Indeed, that decision fit the overall defense strategy of showing thаt Laguerre was not the person who fought or shot Hardeman since Laguerre denied being present for both the shooting and the earlier
5. Laguerre‘s Claim of Cumulative Error
Laguerre contends that he was prejudiced by the cumulative effect of the trial court‘s failure to give an accomplice-corroboration jury instruction and his counsel‘s deficient performance in failing to object to Wimby‘s testimony about his fear of Laguеrre. As discussed above, Laguerre has not established that an error occurred, nor have we assumed any error in resolving his claims. Without any errors to assess cumulatively, this claim fails. See Blocker v. State, 316 Ga. 568, 583 (5) (889 SE2d 824) (2023).
Judgments affirmed. All the Justices concur.