Gregory T.Colemans/k/a Gregory Tarique Coleman vCW ( 1999 )


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  •                   COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
    Present: Judges Elder, Lemons and Senior Judge Cole
    Argued at Richmond, Virginia
    GREGORY T. COLEMAN, S/K/A
    GREGORY TARIQUE COLEMAN
    MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
    v.   Record No. 2008-98-2                 JUDGE DONALD W. LEMONS
    DECEMBER 14, 1999
    COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
    FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ORANGE COUNTY
    Lloyd C. Sullenberger, Judge
    Charles W. Bowman (Higginbotham & Bowman,
    P.L.C, on brief), for appellant.
    Thomas D. Bagwell, Assistant Attorney General
    (Mark L. Earley, Attorney General, on brief),
    for appellee.
    Gregory Tarique Coleman appeals his conviction in a jury
    trial of unlawful wounding with intent to maim, disfigure,
    disable or kill, in violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-51.     He
    contends that the evidence was insufficient to support the
    requisite intent for the conviction.   Finding no error, we
    affirm the judgment of the trial court.
    On appeal, we view the evidence in the light most favorable
    to the Commonwealth, granting the Commonwealth all reasonable
    inferences fairly deducible from it.   See Archer v.
    Commonwealth, 
    26 Va. App. 1
    , 11, 
    492 S.E.2d 826
    , 831 (1997)
    * Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code
    § 17-116.010, this opinion is not designated for publication.
    (citation omitted).    The judgment of the trial court will be set
    aside only if plainly wrong or without supporting evidence.     See
    Commonwealth v. Thomas, 
    23 Va. App. 598
    , 609, 
    478 S.E.2d 715
    ,
    720 (1996).
    So viewed, the Commonwealth proved that Coleman was a
    production line worker at American Woodmark.    In August of 1997,
    Coleman threatened "to whip Bob [Garber's] God damn ass."
    Garber was Coleman's supervisor.
    On October 8, 1997, Garber called Coleman into his office
    to discuss Coleman's job performance.    As Garber was talking to
    Coleman, Coleman stood up and swept the contents of Garber's
    desktop onto the floor.    Coleman then charged Garber and punched
    him in the face eight times.    After Garber pushed Coleman away
    with his foot, Coleman cursed Garber and left the office.
    Within minutes after the altercation, Coleman said to a
    co-worker, "I bust [sic] his ass."
    Garber suffered significant bruising on his face and
    forehead as a result of the assault, as well as two orbital bone
    fractures, a subjunctival hemorrhage and herniation of the fat
    associated with the eye membrane.    The doctor who treated Garber
    testified that it takes significant force to break an orbital
    bone.    Garber further suffered a nasal bone fracture and
    lacerations to the bridge of his nose and under his eye on the
    left side.
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    To sustain a conviction for unlawful wounding, the
    Commonwealth must prove that the bodily injury was caused "with
    intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill."   Code § 18.2-51.
    "Intent in fact is the purpose formed in a person's mind, which
    may be shown by the circumstances surrounding the offense,
    including the person's conduct and his statements.   And a person
    is presumed to intend the immediate, direct, and necessary
    consequences of his voluntary act."    Nobles v. Commonwealth, 
    218 Va. 548
    , 551, 
    238 S.E.2d 808
    , 810 (1977) (citations omitted).
    Ordinarily, the blows inflicted with bare fists do not
    imply intent to kill, disable, disfigure or maim the victim.
    See Roark v. Commonwealth, 
    182 Va. 244
    , 250, 
    28 S.E.2d 693
    ,
    695-96 (1944).   But such blows, if applied with sufficient
    violence or brutality, may allow the trier of fact to infer that
    the defendant possessed the requisite intent.    See Bryant v.
    Commonwealth, 
    189 Va. 310
    , 317, 
    53 S.E.2d 54
    , 57 (1949);
    Williams v. Commonwealth, 
    13 Va. App. 393
    , 395, 
    412 S.E.2d 202
    ,
    203 (1991).
    Coleman attempts to distinguish his case from others where
    convictions of maiming by blows of the fists have been upheld.
    See e.g., Fletcher v. Commonwealth, 
    209 Va. 636
    , 
    166 S.E.2d 269
    (1969); Bryant, 
    189 Va. 310
    , 
    53 S.E.2d 54
    ; Dawkins v.
    Commonwealth, 
    186 Va. 55
    , 
    41 S.E.2d 500
     (1947); Williams, 
    13 Va. App. 393
    , 
    412 S.E.2d 202
    .   Coleman claims that those cases
    involved "significant attendant facts to demonstrate the
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    explicit or implicit intent of the defendant to do serious
    bodily harm to the victim."   Coleman contends that unlike the
    defendants in those cases, he became "suddenly upset" "and
    lashed out," "intend[ing] to assault Garber," but "not
    intend[ing] the injuries that occurred."   Coleman therefore
    claims he did not have the requisite intent.   We disagree.
    The severity of the attack, the extent of the injuries, the
    history of Coleman's frustration with Garber and the statements
    of Coleman both before and after the altercation, support the
    jury's finding of intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill.
    Additionally, the jury was permitted to reject Coleman's account
    of the incident.    "The credibility of the witnesses and the
    weight accorded the evidence are matters solely for the fact
    finder who has the opportunity to see and hear that evidence as
    it is presented."    Sandoval v. Commonwealth, 
    20 Va. App. 133
    ,
    138, 
    455 S.E.2d 730
    , 732 (1995).
    The Commonwealth's evidence was sufficient to prove beyond
    a reasonable doubt that Coleman was guilty of unlawful wounding.
    The judgment is affirmed.
    Affirmed.
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