Shockley v. StateShockley v. State
Appellant Jacques Shockley was convicted of malice murder and other charges arising out of the April 18, 2005 shooting death of Shah Walton.1 Witness Mona Gantt testified that between 9:15 and 10:05
Two trial witnesses testified that on the night of the victim‘s shooting, they observed a vehicle come to an abrupt stop after striking a utility pole. This occurred at a location just over a half mile from where Ms. Gаntt saw the three men getting into a red car, and the vehicle that struck the pole matched the description of the one seen by Ms. Gantt. Immediately after the vehicle struck the pole, the witnesses saw a man exit the rear of the vehicle on the driver‘s side and pace back аnd forth for a few seconds until a second man exited the car from the front passenger side. One of the witnesses saw the two men stop at the rear of the car, as if they were trying to decide what to do. Then, the two men ran off together and disappeared into a trail through the woоds. The engine of the car continued to rev, as if the driver still had his foot on the gas pedal. According to the witnesses’ testimony, between ten to thirty-five minutes after the car struck the pole the witnesses approached the vehicle to investigate. They discovered the victim behind the wheel in the driver‘s seat obviously dead, with his left pocket turned inside out as if someone had reached into it and pulled it out. One of the witnesses testified he then called 911, and the evidence showed a 911 call came in at 9:54 p.m.2 A police detective was dispatched to the scene and arrived at approximately 10:00 p.m. Powell‘s sister testified that between approximately 11:15 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Powell telephoned her and asked her to come pick him up. When she picked him up, about seven blocks from the place where the victim‘s body was found, Powell was visibly upsеt and crying.
1. Although no direct evidence was presented linking appellant with the victim‘s shooting death, the circumstantial evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the jury verdict, is sufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in satisfaction of the standard set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). We reject appellant‘s assertion that the facts presented at trial did not exclude every reasonable hypothesis save that of his guilt, as required by
Powell‘s sister testified that Powell and the victim were best friends and business associates, and that they sold drugs for a living. No evidence, however, was presented linking appellant with the other men‘s drug activity. Appellant argues that the trial evidence proves nothing more than his association with known drug dealers, and that this was insufficient to support his conviction for events that had the appearance of a drug-related killing. Appellant likens the facts of this case to those in Brooks v. State,5 in which the appellate court reversed a drug conviction where the circumstantial evidence established little more than the fact that the appellant was observed talking to a known drug dealer and standing within a few feet of a hidden stash of cocaine. Id. at 485 (1). The evidence in this case, however, consists of substantially more than simply being seen in the presence of the victim and his drug-dealing associate on the evening of the victim‘s shooting. The short interval between the approximate time appellant was seen entering the passenger side of the car driven by the victim, which was also occupied by his co-indictee, and the approximate time (a) two men were seen exiting and running from a car of the same description; (b) which had crashed into a pole only a short distance away from where they had previously been seen; (c) which car was also driven by the victim; and (d) in which car the victim was found shot in the head at close range, is sufficient to permit a rational jury to find appellant guilty bеyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted.
Though the evidence did not conclusively establish which of the two co-indictees actually shot the victim, the jury was instructed as to the standard for convicting a defendant as a party to a crime. Appellant аsserts the evidence does not support his conviction as a party to the crimes for which he was charged because no evidence was presented that appellant was “concerned in the commission” of those crimes, as required by
2. During deliberations, the jury presented the trial court with the following written question: “Can/does malice become implied based on the designation of the parties to a crime?” The trial judge consulted with the prosecuting attorney and appellant‘s trial counsel and indicated he was inclined, in response, to refer the jury to the charges given with respect to when a person may be found guilty as a party to a crime. Appellant‘s trial counsel responded that the instructions speak for themselves, and objectеd to any response that emphasized any particular charges, because he believed the judge and attorneys were merely speculating about what the jury was really concerned with. After a brief discussion, the trial court responded in writing to the jury by instructing the jury to refer to a specific set of numbered charges in the charge packet; those charges corresponded with the full statement of the law regarding conviction as a party to a crime, all of which were taken from the Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions. Appellant now asserts the jury‘s question was ambiguous as to which counts of the indictment the jury‘s question referred to, and that the trial court erred by failing to recall the jury and gain clarification about its question rather than merely guessing at what the jury meant by it. Because appellant did not specifically request the trial court to seek further clarifiсation from the jury about its question before the court responded to it, appellant failed to preserve the issue, and appellate review would be available only if the trial court‘s response to the jury question constituted plain error affecting the substantial rights of the parties.
3. Finally, appellant asserts ineffective assistance of trial counsel with respect to counsel‘s failure to call appellant‘s mother or other family members as alibi witnesses. At the motion for new trial hearing, appellant‘s mother testified that she had spoken with trial counsel about what her testimony would be concerning her son‘s whereabouts on the night in question. She also testified that the reason for appellant‘s trip out of state to visit his father after the shooting was not made to avoid arrest. Appellant‘s mother expected to be called as а witness but, instead, she was neither called as a
A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel requires a showing of both deficient performance of counsеl and prejudice from that deficient performance. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668, 687 (III) (104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984). A decision as to which defense witnesses to call is a matter of counsel‘s trial strategy and tactics and will not support a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel unless it is so unreasonable that no compеtent attorney would have made the decision under the circumstances. Jones v. State, 296 Ga. 561, 567 (4) (769 SE2d 307) (2015). “With respect to the issue of performance, when reviewing ineffective assistance of counsel claims, this Court applies a strong presumption that counsel‘s performance falls within the wide range оf reasonable professional assistance.” Gill v. State, 295 Ga. 705, 708 (2) (763 SE2d 719) (2014). Here, trial counsel‘s testimony shows his election not to call appellant‘s mother was considered, informed, and reasonable, and this Court cannot say that this decision was outside the range of reasonable professional assistance. Thus, appellant has failed to establish his counsel‘s performance was deficient, one of the essential prongs of the standard for proving ineffective assistance of counsel.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.