From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Sylvester v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Nov 2, 1983
310 S.E.2d 284 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983)

Opinion

67260.

DECIDED NOVEMBER 2, 1983.

Rape, etc. Houston Superior Court. Before Judge Hunt.

Harry J. Fox, Jr., for appellant.

G. Theron Finlayson, District Attorney, for appellee.


The defendant was convicted of rape, aggravated assault, and theft by taking. On appeal, he contends that the jury's verdict is not supported by the evidence and that the trial court erred in entering convictions for both aggravated assault and rape because the assault was a lesser included offense as a matter of fact. Held:

1. The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of all three offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. Crawford v. State, 245 Ga. 89 ( 263 S.E.2d 131) (1980); Brown v. State, 164 Ga. App. 505 ( 296 S.E.2d 215) (1982).

2. The aggravated assault indictment charged that the defendant "made an assault [upon the victim] with a knife . . . threatening to kill her." The defendant argues that the evidence used to support this charge was also used to prove the force or intimidation element of the rape charge and consequently that the two charges were based on the same conduct. See generally OCGA § 16-1-6 (Code Ann. § 26-505); State v. Estevez, 232 Ga. 316 ( 206 S.E.2d 475) (1974). However, there was evidence that more than one assault took place prior to and during the rape, and the jury was authorized to conclude that at least one of these was gratuitous and unconnected with the rape offense. See Coaxum v. State, 146 Ga. App. 370 (3) ( 246 S.E.2d 403) (1978).

Judgment affirmed. Deen, P. J., and Carley, J., concur.

DECIDED NOVEMBER 2, 1983.


Summaries of

Sylvester v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Nov 2, 1983
310 S.E.2d 284 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983)
Case details for

Sylvester v. State

Case Details

Full title:SYLVESTER v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Nov 2, 1983

Citations

310 S.E.2d 284 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983)
168 Ga. App. 718

Citing Cases

Woodson v. State

Therefore, it was not error to sentence Woodson separately on the jury's findings of guilt for the aggravated…

Welchel v. State

It is clear from this evidence that more than one assault occurred, the first aggravated assault when the…