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Gibson v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
May 8, 1981
280 S.E.2d 900 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)

Opinion

61841.

DECIDED MAY 8, 1981.

Armed robbery. Fulton Superior Court. Before Judge Alverson.

Arline S. Kerman, for appellant.

Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, Joseph J. Drolet, Margaret V. Lines, Andrew Weathers, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.


The appellant and two co-defendants, Antonio Robinson and L. C. Gibson, were found guilty of armed robbery. Robinson and L. C. Gibson filed a separate appeal, and their convictions were affirmed in Robinson v. State, 158 Ga. App. 54 (1981). Held:

1. The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find the appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560) (1979).

2. The trial court did not err in refusing to grant a continuance because of the absence of a fourth co-indictee, Cathy Landau. Although the appellant argued that Ms. Landau was an essential witness on his behalf and that he could not obtain a fair trial without her, he made no showing of the facts he expected to prove by her testimony. See Code Ann. § 81-1410; Davis v. State, 153 Ga. App. 433 ( 265 S.E.2d 351) (1980).

3. No ground for reversal resulted from the admission of police testimony to the effect that Ms. Landau had stated immediately upon her arrest that "they" had kidnapped and raped her and that "she was not a part of anything else." This testimony was merely cumulative of other evidence directly establishing the appellant's participation in the robbery. In the context of this other evidence, we find it highly probable that the testimony complained of did not contribute to the verdict. See Johnson v. State, 238 Ga. 59 ( 230 S.E.2d 869) (1976).

4. The court did not err in allowing into evidence statements which Robinson had made to police. Although Robinson was a co-conspirator, he was present and testified during the trial of the case, thus making himself available for cross examination. See Depree v. State, 246 Ga. 240 (1) ( 271 S.E.2d 155) (1980).

Judgment affirmed. Deen, P. J., and Carley, J., concur.

DECIDED MAY 8, 1981.


Summaries of

Gibson v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
May 8, 1981
280 S.E.2d 900 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)
Case details for

Gibson v. State

Case Details

Full title:GIBSON v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: May 8, 1981

Citations

280 S.E.2d 900 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)
280 S.E.2d 900

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