Jоhn Henry was convicted of malice murder, felony murder (two counts), aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Charlenthia Hornsby. He appeals from the denial of his amended motion for a new trial. 1 Finding no error, we affirm.
*555 1. The jury was authorized tо find that appellant and the victim, Charlenthia Hornsby, had a tempestuous relationship. One month before the shooting the police arrested appellant for hitting Hornsby in the face. A few days before her death, Hornsby sought assistance from the police to resolve a conflict with appellant over retrieving her personаl belongings. On the day of the murder, appellant was given information that Hornsby was sitting in her car in the driveway of her residence. According to eyewitness testimony, appellаnt approached the vehicle and asked Hornsby to open the car window. She refused and appellant pulled out a handgun and fired shots through the driver door windоw. At one point during the shooting appellant paused and walked away from the car to adjust a malfunction with his gun. He returned to the car and resumed firing at Hornsby who was unablе to escape. Expert testimony established that Hornsby died of severe multiple gunshot wounds to her torso. Although appellant contended that he shot Hornsby in self-defensе after she fired at him, there was no evidence that Hornsby had a gun or that she fired a weapon at appellant.
The evidence adduced was sufficient to enаble a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty of the charged crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jackson v. Virginia,
2. Based on the characteristics of the residenсe where the shooting took place, appellant asserts that the State failed to carry its burden of proof that venue was proper because thеre was not any evidence that the driveway where the victim was shot is located in Fulton County. The address where the shooting took place and where the police responded was 415 Sunset Avenue, a residence located at the corner of Sunset Avenue and Johns Avenue in northwest Atlanta. The front entrance of the residence is located on Sunset Avenue whereas the driveway that is situated behind the residence leads to Johns Avenue. Officer Duncan, a City of Atlanta police officer, testifiеd that the address where the crimes occurred is in Fulton County. Likewise, the officer responding to the shootings testified that the address of the residence is in Fulton County. Unlike
Jones v. State,
3. We find no error in the trial court’s admission of evidence of appellant’s prior conviction for aggravated assault committed against
*556
the mother of a former girlfriend. Pursuant to
Williams v. State,
4. Relying on
Williams v. State,
5. Appellant сontends that during his cross-examination the State improperly commented on the fact that he chose to keep silent and failed to come forward voluntarily tо the authorities about his involvement in the incident. Although we have noted on numerous occasions since our holding in
Mallory v. State,
6. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay testimony from Officer Duncan and the victim’s mother, to establish the existence of prior difficulties bеtween appellant and the victim. Officer Duncan was permitted to testify to his observations on two occasions after Hornsby flagged him down. During the first incident Hornsby reported that appellant had struck her and during the second encounter she asked the officer to assist her in retrieving her car keys from appellant when he would not let her move out of their residence. Hornsby’s mother was permitted to testify about a declaration by Hornsby concerning her intention to leave appellant. In order for hearsay to be admitted under the necessity exception to the hearsay rule, it must be established that the testimony is necessary, that it has particular guarantees оf trustworthiness, and that the hearsay statements are probative.
Chapel v. State,
Although the out-of-court statements of an assault and problems she was experiencing in retrieving car keys that the victim made to the police are considered testimonial in nature under the recent case of
Crawford v. Washington,
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
The crimes occurred on May 3, 2001. Henry was indicted September 14, 2001 in Fulton County on charges of malice murder, two counts of felony murder (one count based upon aggravated assault; the other count based upon possession of a firearm by a convicted felon), aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the сommission of a felony. Following a bifurcated trial, Henry was found guilty on all counts on December 12,2001. The trial court merged the felony murder, aggravated assault and possessiоn of a firearm during the commission of a felony convictions and sentenced Henry on September 9, 2003 nunc pro tunc to December 12, 2001 to life in prison and a consecutive five-year sentence for firearm possession. His motion for new trial, filed December 26,2001 and amended on September 9, 2003, was denied December 5, 2003. A notice of appeal was filed December 30,2003. The appeal was docketed March 5,2004 and was submitted for decision on the briefs.