Following a bench trial, Robert Earl Bizzard was convicted of aggravated battery in violation of OCGA § 16-5-24 (a), for attacking and seriously injuring his wife. Bizzard now appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial. He contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction because the State failed to prove either that Bizzard acted with the requisite criminal intent or that venue was proper in Liberty County. Although we find that the evidence is enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bizzard committed aggravated battery, we also find that the State failed to present any evidence of venue. Accordingly, we must reverse the judgment below and remand for a new trial.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, 1 the evidence shows that on the night in question, the victim attended a church revival meeting and then returned to the home she shared with Bizzard on Strickland Street. There she found a note from Bizzard, stating that he had seen the victim with another man and that she should expect a beating when Bizzard returned. Later that evening, Bizzard called the victim and asked her to pick him up at a local bar. The victim refused his request, and Bizzard found another way home. Soon after he arrived home, Bizzard began physically assaulting the victim and repeatedly told her that he was going to kill her. Eventually, the victim was able to flee the house and began running toward her mother’s house, which was also located on Strickland Street. When it appeared that Bizzard would catch her before she made it to her mother’s house, the victim instead went to the home of a neighbor. Bizzard reached the victim as she was standing on the neighbor’s porch, banging on the door and screaming for help. He hit the victim in the face with such force that she lost consciousness. The force of the blow also split the skin above the victim’s upper lip, and the injury was so severe that it required more than 20 stitches to close, the victim was unable to eat for approximately ten days after the incident, and she was left with a permanent scar. 2 Bizzard left the scene and went to the home of the victim’s mother, where he informed the mother that the victim needed medical attention. The victim’s mother called 911. Officers with the City of Hinesville Police Department responded and arrested Bizzard.
1. A person commits aggravated battery when he “maliciously *186 causes bodily harm to another by depriving him or her of a member of his or her body, by rendering a member of his or her body useless, or by seriously disfiguring his or her body or a member thereof.” OCGA § 16-5-24 (a). Here, Bizzard contends that the State failed to prove that he possessed the requisite criminal intent for aggravated battery because it did not show that he intended to injure the victim as seriously as he did; that is, he argues that the State failed to prove that he specifically intended to maim or disfigure the victim. This argument misapprehends the intent necessary for aggravated battery.
To convict Bizzard, the State was not required to show that he intended the specific results of his conduct.
White v. State,
2. Bizzard also contends that the State failed to prove venue. We agree. The Georgia Constitution “requires that venue in all criminal cases must be laid in the county in which the crime was allegedly committed.”
Jones v. State,
In this case, the record is devoid of any evidence establishing that venue is proper in Liberty County. Indeed, Liberty County was not mentioned by any witness, and the State showed only that the crime occurred on Strickland Street. As our Supreme Court has explained, however, “a street name, standing alone, is never sufficient to establish venue, because streets frequently run through more than one county.”
Jones,
In its brief, the State offers three arguments why we should find sufficient evidence of venue, despite the lack of any direct testimony on that issue. First, the State argues that it introduced a map at trial, and cites a case holding that such evidence can support a finding of venue in a particular county. See
Carter v. State,
Next, the State points to the fact that, when the prosecutor noted during opening statements that Strickland Street was approxi
*188
mately one block from the courthouse, the trial judge responded that he was familiar with the location of Strickland Street. The State argues that this response shows that the trial court took judicial notice of the fact that the crime occurred in Liberty County. We disagree. The Supreme Court of Georgia has held that “if a trial court intends to take judicial notice of any fact, it must first announce its intention to do so on the record, and afford the parties an opportunity to be heard regarding whether judicial notice should be taken.”
Graves v. State,
Finally, the State argues that, even if the trial court failed to take judicial notice of the fact that venue was proper in Liberty County, this Court has the authority to take judicial notice of that fact. In support of this position, the State cites
Brown v. State,
We note that, because our reversal is based solely upon insufficient evidence of venue, “the State is not barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause from retrying [Bizzard], so long as venue is properly established at retrial.”
Jones,
Judgment reversed.
Notes
Ferguson v. State,
Witnesses testified that the cut resulting from Bizzard’s blow was so severe that the victim’s teeth were visible, even when her mouth was closed. One of the responding officers stated that it was the worst injury he had ever seen.