Price v. State , 297 Ga. 79 ( 2015 )

In the Supreme Court of Georgia
Decided: May 11, 2015
S15A0299. PRICE v. THE STATE.
BENHAM, Justice.
Appellant Cornelius Price was convicted of malice murder and related
crimes for the death of Chad Shirey.1 On the night of the incident, appellant was
riding around with four other young men, including co-indictee DeMario
Holden who was driving the others in his mother’s mini-van. While at a gas
station, the young men saw the victim driving a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice which
had been upgraded with custom paint and graphics. Appellant told the others
that he wanted to steal the car and asked for Holden’s gun. Holden began
1
The crimes occurred on May 22, 2009. On September 15, 2009, a Richmond County grand
jury returned a true bill of indictment charging appellant with malice murder, felony murder,
hijacking a motor vehicle, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Appellant
was tried before a jury from June 22, 2010, to June 24, 2010, and the jury returned verdicts of guilt
on all charges. The trial court sentenced appellant to life in prison for malice murder, twenty years
to be served consecutively for hijacking a motor vehicle, and five years to be served consecutively
for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The felony murder count was vacated
as a matter of law. On July 7, 2010, appellant moved for a new trial and amended the motion on
April 22, 2014. The trial court held a hearing on May 5, 2014, and denied the motion for new trial,
as amended, on May 8, 2014. Appellant filed a notice of appeal on May 27, 2014, and the case was
docketed to the January 2015 Term of this Court for a decision to be made on the briefs.
following the victim’s car and when the victim turned onto a dirt road, appellant
got out of the van, approached the car, said “give it up,” and fired the gun at
least two times. The victim, who had been hit, tried to flee, but crashed the car
into a tree. The young men fled from the scene. Minutes later, a woman who
was on the passenger side of the victim’s car ran to a neighbor’s house for help.
The victim died of gunshot wounds to his chest and arm. During his interview
with police, appellant confessed that he had shot the victim, that his motivation
in approaching the victim was to steal the car, and that he was influenced by
peer pressure from Holden.
1. The evidence adduced at trial and summarized above was sufficient to
authorize a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S.
307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
2. On appeal, appellant only raises one enumeration of error, contending
that his confession should have been suppressed because it was involuntary due
to his youth, his eighth-grade education, and his long wait to be interviewed by
authorities. “In ruling on the admissibility of an in-custody statement, a trial
court must determine whether, based upon the totality of the circumstances, a
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preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that the statement was made freely
and voluntarily. [Cit.]” Grier v. State, 273 Ga. 363 (2) (541 SE2d 369) (2001).
An appellate court will not disturb such factual and credibility determinations
unless clearly erroneous. Id.In this case, the trial court held a Jackson-Denno2 hearing immediately
before trial commenced. The evidence at the hearing showed that appellant was
arrested one month after the shooting occurred. Authorities arrested appellant
at approximately at 6:00 A.M. and took him to the sheriff’s department where
he was placed in the office of one of the investigators working on the case.
While appellant waited, he was not handcuffed or shackled. There was no
evidence presented that appellant asked for and/or was denied food or drink or
denied access to restroom facilities during his wait. Appellant’s interview began
at 9:50 A.M. that same morning. Two officers participated in appellant’s
interview. Appellant told the officers he had completed the eighth grade.3 Both
officers testified that appellant’s rights were read to him and that appellant did
2
Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (84 SCt 1774, 12 LEd2d 908) (1964).
3
Although appellant emphasizes in his brief the fact that he was 17 years old at the time of
the crimes, no mention of his age was made by either party during the Jackson-Denno hearing.
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not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. At the beginning of the
audio-recorded interview, appellant acknowledged that he had been read his
rights, that he understood his rights, and that he wanted to speak with the
officers. Appellant never asked for a lawyer and never invoked his right to
silence. The investigators never promised appellant anything or threatened him
in any way. The interview concluded at approximately 10:12 A.M.
Under these circumstances, we cannot conclude that the trial court’s
decision to admit appellant’s custodial statement was clearly erroneous. See
Green v. State, 282 Ga. 672 (2) (653 SE2d 23) (2007) (custodial statement made
by youth one month shy of his seventeenth birthday upheld as voluntary).
Accordingly, appellant’s appeal cannot be sustained.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.
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