Harris v. StateHarris v. State
Defendant was indicted and convicted of two counts of forgery in the first degree and one count of financial transaction card theft. His appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw as counsel pursuant to Anders v. California,
1. Defendant’s brief raises the general grounds for motion for new trial as to the sufficiency of the evidence. As to the two counts of forgery in the first degree, defendant was positively identified as the individual who attempted to cash stolen and forged checks. In
As to the count of financial transaction card theft, the state’s evidence shows that the defendant was arrested while attempting to cash a stolen check which had been forged so as to be payable to an innocent third-party, Beck. When confronted by a law enforcement officer shortly after attempting to cash this check defendant “broke and ran.” When apprehended shortly thereafter defendant identified himself as “Beck.” A wallet found in a shrub in the immediate area of defendant’s arrest contained Beck’s driver’s license altered to show defendant’s photograph, Beck’s credit card, which is the subject of the charge of financial transaction card theft and defendant’s temporary driver’s license. The evidence of the two check transactions, one involving the use of the identity of another to facilitate the cashing of the check, provided circumstantial evidence from which the jury could reasonably infer that defendant withheld and was retaining possession of Beck’s credit card, without the consent of Beck, with intent to use it either to obtain goods and services directly or as a form of identification to facilitate the cashing of other stolen checks forged so as to be payable to Beck.
Fegan v. State,
A rational trier of fact could reasonably have found from the evidence adduced at trial proof of guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt of the offenses of two counts of forgery in the first degree and one count of financial transaction card theft. See
Rachel v. State,
2. Defendant contends that his trial counsel was ineffective and insufficient in that trial counsel failed to object to certain leading questions and failed to submit into evidence a photograph of the defendant. The record discloses that defendant’s trial counsel conducted a thorough and extensive cross-examination of the witnesses in this case, moved for mistrial due to alleged improper communications between a witness and a juror, and presented a closing argument on behalf of defendant.
The purported leading question to which there was no objection raised at trial was a proper question which did not contain within the question a suggestion as to the expected answer. As to the defense counsel’s decision not to place a photograph of the defendant into evidence that decision was included within the defense decision not to present any evidence. In any case, the record suggests no way in which the photograph taken of the defendant shortly after his arrest
3. The trial court did not err in sentencing the defendant to consecutive sentences.
Gandy v. State,
4. The transcript reflects the trial court orally sentenced the defendant for the offense of “credit card theft.” However, when the sentence was reduced to writing the record reflects a scrivener’s error occurred in which the sentence appears as one for “Credit Card Fraud” (financial transaction card fraud) (see OCGA § 16-9-33 (formerly Code Ann. § 26-1705.3 (Ga. L. 1980, pp. 1083,1088)) rather than for financial transaction card theft for which the defendant was indicted and convicted. Therefore, in view of the scrivener’s error in the court’s written sentence, this case is remanded with direction that the trial court’s written sentence be corrected.
Judgment affirmed with direction.