State v. Brooker ( 2003 )

Re:

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Eric Brooker, Appellant.

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Appeal From Allendale County
Paul M. Burch, Circuit Court Judge

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Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-349
Submitted March 26, 2003 – Filed May 20, 2003

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AFFIRMED

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Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Randolph  Murdaugh, III, of Hampton; for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:   Appellant, Eric Brooker, was indicted for murder, attempted armed robbery, and assault and battery with intent to kill.  He was acquitted of murder and attempted armed robbery, but was convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill.  The trial judge sentenced Brooker to seventeen years imprisonment.  On appeal, Brooker contends the trial judge erred by refusing to direct a verdict reducing assault and battery with intent to kill to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature where the State’s evidence showed only that appellant placed a gun to the victim’s head and attempted to pull her from a car.  We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b)(2), SCACR and the following authorities:  State v. Kennerly, 231 S.C. 442, 455, 503 S.E.2d 214, 221 (Ct. App. 1998) (in reviewing a denial of directed verdict, issues not raised to the trial court in support of the directed verdict motion are not preserved for appellate review); State v. King, 334 S.C. 504, 510, 514 S.E.2d 578, 581 (1999) (to preserve an issue for appellate review, the objection must be timely made, which usually requires it be made at the earliest possible opportunity; an issue may not be raised for the first time in a motion for a new trial); State v. Huggins, 336 S.C. 200, 205, 519 S.E.2d 574, 576 (1999) (it is well settled that issues may not be raised for the first time on appeal).

AFFIRMED.

GOOLSBY, ANDERSON and HUFF, JJ. concur.