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Pittman v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Apr 13, 1979
256 S.E.2d 67 (Ga. Ct. App. 1979)

Opinion

57374.

ARGUED MARCH 12, 1979.

DECIDED APRIL 13, 1979. REHEARING DENIED APRIL 30, 1979.

Credit card theft. Fulton Superior Court. Before Judge McKenzie.

William L. Henderson, for appellant.

Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, Joseph J. Drolet, Victor Alexander, Jr., Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.


We affirm appellant's conviction of credit card theft.

1. Appellant raised no objection to the manner of conducting voir dire or to the admission of state's exhibit 1, and thus he will not be heard to raise appellate contentions about those matters. Sanders v. State, 134 Ga. App. 825 (1) ( 216 S.E.2d 371) (1975).

2. The court's charges on recent possession and on the jury's duty to reach a verdict were in accordance with the law. Carpenter v. State, 140 Ga. App. 368 (2) ( 231 S.E.2d 97) (1976); Hardy v. State, 242 Ga. 702 (4f) ( 251 S.E.2d 289) (1978). The enumerations of error concerning those charges are therefore meritless.

3. Because there was substantial direct evidence of appellant's commission of the crime charged, it was not error for the court to fail to charge on circumstantial evidence. "`A charge to the jury on circumstantial evidence is required only when the case is wholly dependent thereon.'" Montgomery v. State, 241 Ga. 396, 397 ( 245 S.E.2d 652) (1978).

4. The trial court did not err in admitting in-court identifications by two witnesses, gas station attendants in whose presence appellant used the stolen card. See Talley v. State, 137 Ga. App. 548 (2) ( 224 S.E.2d 455) (1976) and Heyward v. State, 236 Ga. 526 (1) ( 224 S.E.2d 383) (1976). Even assuming that the photographic display was impermissibly suggestive, in light of the totality of the circumstances there was not a substantial likelihood of misidentification.

6. Contrary to appellant's contention, his trial counsel's decision not to put appellant on the witness stand does not require this court to reverse due to ineffectiveness of counsel. Johnson v. Caldwell, 228 Ga. 776 (1) ( 187 S.E.2d 844) (1972).

7. It was not necessary for the state to present testimony from the title owner of the stolen credit card. Testimony of the bailee was sufficient. Garrett v. State, 147 Ga. App. 666 (1) ( 250 S.E.2d 1) (1978). The evidence established every element of the crime charged, and the general grounds are without merit. It follows that the trial court did not err in denying appellant's motion for a directed verdict.

Judgment affirmed. Quillian, P. J., and Birdsong, J., concur.

ARGUED MARCH 12, 1979 — DECIDED APRIL 13, 1979 — REHEARING DENIED APRIL 30, 1979 — CERT. APPLIED FOR.


Summaries of

Pittman v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Apr 13, 1979
256 S.E.2d 67 (Ga. Ct. App. 1979)
Case details for

Pittman v. State

Case Details

Full title:PITTMAN v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Apr 13, 1979

Citations

256 S.E.2d 67 (Ga. Ct. App. 1979)
256 S.E.2d 67

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