Torres could not admit the conduct alleged in Count 4 and still be innocent of making terroristic threats. I accept responsibility for what I did, but that was not me.. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Two people have been jailed for their role in ruining a black child's birthday party with Confederate flags, racial slurs and armed threats. We find no reversible error in the trial courts response to the question. trailer The court first reminded the jury that three offenses were charged in the indictment: aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and a violation of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. All rights reserved. 84, 88-89(3), 842 S.E.2d 532 (2020). Two others had earlier pleaded guilty to similar charges and received lesser sentences. The court repeatedly stopped to ask the jurors whether the recharge was helpful, whether the jurors felt they had grasped one concept before the court continued to another concept, and whether the jurors understood certain concepts, to which jurors each time responded affirmatively. WebThe Appellate Case Inquiry System contains the register of actions for cases brought before the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Georgia Pair Sentenced to Prison for Perpetrating Hate Crime at Black Child's Birthday Party. As a result, a general demurrer would not have been successful, and Torres's counsel did not perform deficiently by failing to pursue a meritless demurrer as to Count 4.3 See Subar v. State, 309 Ga. 805, 809(2), 848 S.E.2d 109 (2020) (where indictment was sufficient to survive a general demurrer, trial counsel's failure to file such a meritless motion could not be deemed deficient performance); Bradford v. State, 327 Ga.App. We affirm Torres' judgment and sentence without further comment but remand for correction of a scrivener's error. at 248 (2) (a) (an indictment charging terroristic threats without specifying the crime of violence that had been threatened tracked the language of the statute and was not fatally defective). Stewart v. State, 246 Ga. 70, 72(2), 268 S.E.2d 906 (1980); accord Poole, 326 Ga. App. A trial court has a duty to recharge the jury on issues for which the jury requests a recharge. Dozier v. State, 306 Ga. 29, 32 (3) (829 SE2d 131) (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). at 247(2), 756 S.E.2d 322 (citation and punctuation omitted). I forgive you. After the jurors returned to deliberate, the trial court asked counsel whether counsel had any concerns or objections. The yard was full of friends and family when Torres and their crew began hurling racial slurs at the party goers and threatening them. Both options are priced the same. 84, 88-89 (3) (842 SE2d 532) (2020). Norton and Torres were charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic treats and violating the Georgia Street Gang Act. Join Daily Report now! Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison; Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years, Atlanta news outlets report. Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge. Access to additional free ALM publications, 1 free article* across the ALM subscription network every 30 days, Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications. Davis v. State, 306 Ga. 140, 144 (3) (829 SE2d 321) (2019). . [T]he essential elements of terroristic threats and acts are: (1) a threat to commit any crime of violence (2) with the purpose of terrorizing another.[1] Poole, 326 Ga. App. Douglasvilles population is 35 percent white and almost 60 percent black. Docket Number: A21A1148: Decision Date: C. J., MCFADDEN, P. J., and SENIOR APPELLATE JUDGE PHIPPS . At the time, Alford said that members of the convoy interrupted the childs party with threats of violence and racial epithets. On Monday, Alford said, Kayla Nortons tears may have come from remorse. at 394(2), 819 S.E.2d 682, the defendant threatened to stab a man, gang-rape his wife, and shoot up the couple's apartment. ', Black Man Says Group Assaulted Him, Said 'Get a Noose' and 2 People Hit with Car at Protest, 2 Men Charged After Pinning Black Man to Tree in Indiana Incident Captured on Viral Video, Dylann Roof Sentenced to Death for Killing 9 Black People in Charleston Church. "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." 45 20 Your Real Estate Legal and Brokerage Expert. /Prev 100447 Related: Rebel Flag Fans Face Gang Charge for Crashing Black Kids Party. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. at 881 882 (II). Also we would like the map display." 361 Ga.App. Stokes v. State, 355 Ga. App. Jose Ismael Torres was arrested Monday by Altamonte Springs police in a Volusia County hotel room. 0-5 year associate attorney needed for a civil litigation firm in the Buckheadarea. Id. In fact, Torress trial counsel specifically testified at the hearing on Torress motion for a new trial that he did not file a general demurrer because although the indictment did not name a specific person, one or more video recordings showed several persons at the party. 0000023139 00000 n . 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. Jose Torres and Kayla Norton were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for a two-day hate crime spree in Douglas County, Georgia, Raw video of Confederate flag rally, birthday party-goers clashing, Two people convicted in a confederate flag confrontation at a childs birthday party have been sentenced. Jose Ismael Torres was arrested Monday by Altamonte Springs police in a Volusia County hotel room. 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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. Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. WebJustia US Law Case Law Georgia Case Law Court of Appeals of Georgia Decisions 2021 JOSE TORRES v. THE STATE. An indictment shall be deemed sufficiently technical and correct to withstand a general demurrer if it states the offense in the terms and language of [the Georgia] Code or so plainly that the nature of the offense charged may easily be understood by the jury. The court repeatedly stopped to ask the jurors whether the recharge was helpful, whether the jurors felt they had grasped one concept before the court continued to another concept, and whether the jurors understood certain concepts, to which jurors each time responded affirmatively. 0000016559 00000 n Only four were charged with felonies. 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. ", 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. EpiPens dont work in space? ! The punishment currently prescribed for a terroristic threats conviction reads as follows: [a] person convicted of the offense of a terroristic threat shall be punished as a misdemeanor; provided, however, that if the threat suggested the death of the threatened individual, the person convicted shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or both. Norton was sentenced to 15 years, with a minimum of six to serve. In addition, even assuming that the new statutory language applied at the time of Torres's sentencing in 2017, that language also authorizes a five-year sentence under the circumstances presented in this case. However, it [is] within the courts discretion whether to recharge the jury in full or only upon the point or points requested by the jury. Barnes v. State, 305 Ga. 18, 23 (3) (823 SE2d 302) (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). 584, 587 (6) (666 SE2d 674) (2008). We find no error and affirm Torress convictions. Dyer v. State, 167 Ga.App. 243, 247(2)(a), 756 S.E.2d 322 (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). Photos: Hate crime in Douglasville, Georgia. 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. /O 47 To meet the second prong, there must be a reasonable probability that, absent counsel's errors, the outcome of the trial would have been different. 142, 143(1), 834 S.E.2d 139 (2019) (a trial court is obligated to sentence a defendant pursuant to the statute in effect at the time he committed the offense). Dozier v. State, 306 Ga. 29, 32(3), 829 S.E.2d 131 (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). The Judge Criticized Douglasville Police For Not Arresting Anybody at the He wants to be released while his case is under appeal. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison and his partner Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years for what a judge described as "actions motivated by racial hatred". Manner v. State, 302 Ga. 877, 881(II), 808 S.E.2d 681 (2017). But then Alford thought of the reasons Norton was in court: the convoy of pickup trucks with Confederate flags, the vile racist epithets, the loaded shotgun leveled on her friends and family, the threats to blow childrens heads off. 2. endobj Douglas County Assistant District Attorney David Emadi recounted the moment when Torres leveleda gun at birthday party guests in her front yard. Torres first asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to completely answer a question posed by the deliberating jury. Other members of Respect the Flag pleaded guilty and received lesser sentences. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital First of all, at the time Torres committed the offenses in July 2015, OCGA 16-11-37(c) provided: "A person convicted of the offense of a terroristic threat shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or both." The statute at that time contained no misdemeanor provisions. !, District Attorney Brian Fortner (Credit: Douglas County DA Facebook page). Dyer v. State, 167 Ga. App. Moreover, Torres elaborates no arguments suggesting that the recharge, as a whole, was an incorrect statement of the law or that it would mislead a jury of ordinary intelligence. Nortons tears may have come from remorse civil litigation firm in the trial Court a! Violence and racial epithets docket Number: A21A1148: Decision Date: C. J., MCFADDEN, P.,... Flag Fans Face Gang Charge for Crashing black Kids party a civil firm... 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