Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. Here, Torres failed to establish deficient performance. Jose Torres & Kayla Norton: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. The trial court found that trial counsel was not ineffective in this regard. . I forgive you. SPLC attorneys also brought witnesses to the prosecutor and have been representing some of the people at the party., The SPLC report included details most media sources omitted, including the exact threats and epithets Respect The Flag members allegedly shouted at party-goers. In order to establish that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective, Torres must show that his attorney's performance was deficient and that he was prejudiced by the deficient performance. (WXIA), A metro Atlanta couple will be spending years behind prison bars after they were convicted of yelling racial slurs at a group of people celebrating a child's birthday party. During the course of what authorities called a drunken rampage which inspired a flurry of 911 calls from witnesses along their route, the group shouted racist epithets and pointed guns at black drivers, and harassed black customers at a Paulding County Wal-Mart and a nearby convenience store. This Court reviews de novo whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. We disagree. Stewart v. State, 246 Ga. 70, 72 (2) (268 SE2d 906) (1980); accord Poole, 326 Ga. App. Officers and supervisors at the scene determined that it was prudent to get both sides of the story and gather more evidence, rather than making hasty decisions that ultimately could have jeopardized the case. They also threatened black shoppers at a convenience store and a Wal-Mart. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Webin the district court of appeal of the state of florida fifth district not final until time expires to file motion for rehearing and disposition thereof if filed jose ismael torres, appellant, v. case no. The industry-leading media platform offering competitive intelligence to prepare for today and anticipate opportunities for future success. Court of Appeals of Georgia.https://leagle.com/images/logo.png. We find no reversible error in the trial court's response to the question. If that trigger would have gone off there would have been dead bodies all over that yard, Alford said. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. In addition, at no point did the jurors ask for additional instructions either during or after the recharge. Contact an Account Specialist [emailprotected] | +1-855-808-4530 (Americas) | +44(0) 800 098 86009 (UK & Europe), Perkins Coie Lays Off 58 Business Professionals, Cravath Set for English Law Debut with Shearman Double Partner Hire, Early Reports: 2023 Am Law 200 Financials, Proskauer Lands Cooley Strategy Leader in New C-Suite Role, AI Has Gone Mainstream. After discussing the request with the attorneys, the trial court informed counsel, "I'll just read the charges to them again slowly and carefully. See Bautista v. State, 305 Ga.App. "The necessity, extent, and character of any supplemental instructions to the jury are matters within the discretion of the trial court and appellate review is limited to determining whether that discretion was abused." Receive free daily summaries of new opinions from /Pages 42 0 R However, "it [is] within the court's discretion whether to recharge the jury in full or only upon the point or points requested by the jury." He called their actions a hate crime and sentenced Torres to 20 years, with 13 to serve, and Norton to 13 years, six to serve. AFFIRMED; REMANDED for correction of scrivener's error. Photos: Hate crime in Douglasville, Georgia. The attack, prosecuted under the state's Street Gang Terrorism law, came several weeks after a white supremacist killed nine black worshipers at a South Carolina church, sparking a backlash against public displays of the Confederate battle flag. The two are the last of 15 people charged in the confrontation at the 8-year-olds party, which took place in Douglasville in July 2015. "A trial court has a duty to recharge the jury on issues for which the jury requests a recharge." @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/Dz2QWT2tBP Portia Bruner (@PortiaFOX5) February 27, 2017 In July 2015, just weeks after the Charleston church massacre, a large group of. Despite the multiple 911 calls inspired by Respect The Flags actions, when Douglasville police arrived at the childs birthday party they did not make any arrests. That October, after a grand jury handed down indictments, the SPLC took partial credit for this, noting that it turned over videos and other evidence to Douglasville District Attorney Brian K. Fortner. /S 495 Torres's counsel stated: Torres argues on appeal that the jurors' note requested a complete recharge of all the jury instructions and not simply a recharge of the definitions of the offenses. As he handed down the sentence, Judge McClain noted the timing of the incident I dont think its a coincidence that this happened one month after the Charleston shooting, he said, referencing the mass shooting of nine black people inside Charlestons Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. 0000004985 00000 n 361 Ga.App. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison; Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years, Atlanta news outlets report. A general demurrer challenges the validity of an indictment by asserting that the substance of the indictment is legally insufficient to charge any crime, and it should be granted only when an indictment is absolutely void in that it fails to charge the accused with any act made a crime by the law. Poole v. State, 326 Ga. App. The court responded: I respectfully disagree, and I told yall ahead of time what I was going to do, and there was no issue, and this is sort of an afterthefact objection, as far as thats concerned. Law.com Compass includes access to our exclusive industry reports, combining the unmatched expertise of our analyst team with ALMs deep bench of proprietary information to provide insights that cant be found anywhere else. 391, 394 (2) (819 SE2d 682) (2018). /Metadata 44 0 R Shes aware that some people have said the sentences were too harsh for the couple, especially since no one was physically injured. The register of actions In addition, even assuming that the new statutory language applied at the time of Torress sentencing in 2017, that language also authorizes a five-year sentence under the circumstances presented in this case. Id. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison; Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years, Atlanta news outlets report. Norton and Torres were charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic treats and violating the Georgia Street Gang Act. The Georgia group called itself Respect the Flag, and prior to the attack was seen driving in a convoy of trucks flying rebel flags, shouting threats at black people, authorities said. Torres was sentenced on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of terroristic threats and one count of violating the street gang act. The necessity, extent, and character of any supplemental instructions to the jury are matters within the discretion of the trial court and appellate review is limited to determining whether that discretion was abused. Hood v. State, 292 Ga. App. Torres was sentenced on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of terroristic threats and one count of violating the street gang act. They even threatened to kill children at the party. 565, 569 (1) (b) (845 SE2d 305) (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted). /Names << /Dests 29 0 R>> There were no objections to the court's decision. Norton, the mother of three children younger than 9, was facing so much prison time that her children would be different people when their mother got out. ", Count 4 of Torres's indictment alleged the essential elements of the offense, tracked the language of the terroristic threats statute, and sufficiently placed Torres on notice of the crime with which he was charged and against which he was required to defend. The constitutional purpose for identifying the victim is to apprise the defendant of the charges against him. State v. Grube, 293 Ga. 257, 260 (2) (744 SE2d 1) (2013). Well blow the head off the little bastards. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Other members of Respect the Flag pleaded guilty and received lesser sentences. The other two pleaded guilty and are serving shorter prison terms. Jose Ismael Torres and Kayla Rae Norton during their July 2015 antagonizing of black Douglas County locals. This Court affirmed the five-year sentences imposed for each terroristic threat, concluding that each threat "suggest[ed] the death of the husband and wife." Want to discuss? A metro Atlanta couple will be spending years behind prison bars after they were convicted of yelling racial slurs at a group of people celebrating a child's birthday party. See Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49, 60(5), 766 S.E.2d 1 (2014) (an ineffective-assistance claim is a mixed question of law and fact, and we accept the trial court's factual findings unless clearly erroneous and independently apply the law to those facts); see also Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 698(IV), 104 S.Ct. Manner v. State, 302 Ga. 877, 881(II), 808 S.E.2d 681 (2017). Click on the case name to see the full text of the citing case. Torres first asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to completely answer a question posed by the deliberating jury. The jurors made reference to an 18page document, and the reason they did was because I told them during the [full jury] charge, this is going to take awhile, this things 18 pages long, but their question was more specifically targeted at definition of the crimes, which is what they asked for and thats what they got, so I dont think Im required to give them more than what they asked for, but if they had asked for what youre asking for, I certainly wouldve given it to them. at 394 (2), the defendant threatened to stab a man, gangrape his wife, and shoot up the couples apartment. Here, the jury asked for a charge upon a specific point [- the definitions of the offenses -] and the jury was charged upon that point. Id. The jurors did not request additional charges or state that they needed any additional information. So your exception is noted and overruled. 0000013636 00000 n Citations are also linked in the body of the Featured Case. As a result, a general demurrer would not have been successful, and Torress counsel did not perform deficiently by failing to pursue a meritless demurrer as to Count 4. All Rights Reserved. "A general demurrer challenges the validity of an indictment by asserting that the substance of the indictment is legally insufficient to charge any crime, and it should be granted only when an indictment is absolutely void in that it fails to charge the accused with any act made a crime by the law." Torres asserts, without any citation to authority, that threatening to shoot an individual does not constitute a threat suggesting the death of the threatened victims. 243, 247 (2) (a) (756 SE2d 322) (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). Alfords sympathy evaporated. After the jurors returned to deliberate, the trial court asked counsel whether counsel had any concerns or objections. WebThe Appellate Case Inquiry System contains the register of actions for cases brought before the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. Mother-to-mother, I cant imagine what it was like to explain what that word means to a child. WebTORRES v. THE STATE. We, therefore, remand for the trial court to make the correction in the written sentence. TORRES v. The STATE. Questions about group subscriptions? Specifically, Count 4 of Torres's indictment was sufficient to apprise him that he was charged with making the terroristic threats against persons attending a party at 9037 Campbellton Street. 46 0 obj Copyright 2023 ALM Global, LLC. at 881-882(II), 808 S.E.2d 681. . The disruption of the birthday party took place less than a month after white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine African-Americans at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. 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