FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. On Monday, Alford said, Kayla Nortons tears may have come from remorse. Torres was sentenced on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of terroristic threats and one count of violating the street gang act. Please read our Commenting Policy first. Two others had earlier pleaded guilty to similar charges and received lesser sentences. Not only did Count 4 of the indictment in this case track the language of the statute, but it contained other information sufficient to place Torres on notice of the charge against him. TORRES v. THE STATE. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. 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). at 395 (2). The indictment closely tracked the language of OCGA 16-11-37(b),2 which states that "[a] person commits the offense of a terroristic threat when he or she threatens to [c]ommit any crime of violence [w]ith the purpose of terrorizing another[,] or [i]n reckless disregard of the risk of causing the terror." << They caused so much mayhem, McClain said, 911 call centers were flooded with calls. 0000000729 00000 n The two were found guilty in Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBent Ramsey and more. 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. This Court reviews de novo whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. There is no hate crime law; Torres and Kayla Norton were convicted under the Street Gang Terrorism Act. Rickman, C. J., and McFadden, P. J., concur. << In order to establish that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective, Torres must show that his attorney's performance was deficient and that he was prejudiced by the deficient performance. 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. The yard was full of friends and family when Torres and their crew began hurling racial slurs at the party goers and threatening them. After the jurors returned to deliberate, the trial court asked counsel whether counsel had any concerns or objections. Want to discuss? At issue here is how the trial court handled the request for the "definitions of the charges." 45 20 Jose Ismael Torres was arrested Monday by Altamonte Springs police in a Volusia County hotel room. There were no objections to the court's decision. 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. Customer Service| Torres next asserts that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to file a general demurrer to the terroristic threats count of his indictment. Both options are priced the same. Assistant District Attorney David After Torres and Nortons sentencing, Douglasville police defended their delayed response in a statement saying that Because of the seriousness of this case to our community, we wanted to get this case right the first time. (WXIA), 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. According to trial counsel, he did not believe that a general demurrer would be meritorious because the defense "knew what [they] were dealing with" and "knew who those specific people were. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. 210, 213 (2) (699 SE2d 392) (2010) (indictment survived general demurrer because it both tracked the language of the statute and described the acts constituting the offense sufficiently to put the defendant on notice of the offense with which he was charged). This claim therefore fails.4. The constitutional purpose for identifying the victim is to apprise the defendant of the charges against him. 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. In Christian, 347 Ga. App. /T 100459 Alford, 46, and other victims sat in the jury box on Monday through much of the sentencing hearing. /Info 43 0 R This is behaviour that even supporters of the Confederate battle flag can agree is criminal and shouldnt be allowed, Douglas County District Attorney Brian Fortner said in a statement. Although OCGA 16-11-37 was revised effective May 3, 2016, see Ga. L. 2016, p. 793, 2, "in general, a crime is to be construed and punished according to the provisions of the law existing at the time of its commission." Copyright 2023 ALM Global, LLC. Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? Two people have been jailed for their role in ruining a black child's birthday party with Confederate flags, racial slurs and armed threats. They eventually clashed with an African American family holding a birthday party, threatening them with a knife, tire iron and a gun. 46 0 obj The incident came just days after a massacre at a Charleston church, where nine African-Americans were killed. See also MartinezChavez v. State, 352 Ga. App. 0000016559 00000 n I accept responsibility for what I did, but that was not me.. Also on Facebook, Norton promised not to snitch on Torres or anyone else involved in the two-day spree. Great opportunity for advancement. The children at the party heard and saw much of the altercation. See id. See Bautista v. State, 305 Ga. App. Victims look on as the sentences are read. You gamble, you win or you lose.. To meet the second prong, there must be a reasonable probability that, absent counsels errors, the outcome of the trial would have been different. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge. Terms of Service. Here, Torres failed to establish deficient performance. Credit: Photo provided by Ceciley Pangburn. 0000004744 00000 n Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. Torres also claims in a one-paragraph argument that his five-year sentence on the terroristic threats count is void because Count 4 only charged a misdemeanor, not a felony. Torres asserts, without any citation to authority, that threatening to shoot an individual does not constitute a threat suggesting the death of the threatened victims. /H [ 831 681 ] This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Two days after the party, on July 27, 2015, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that authorities were investigating the videos to determine if anything illegal happened. Widner v. State, 280 Ga. 675, 677(2), 631 S.E.2d 675 (2006) (citation and punctuation omitted). We conclude that the trial court did not err in denying Torres's motion for a new trial on this ground. Dyer v. State, 167 Ga.App. WebGet free access to the complete judgment in Torres v. State on CaseMine. 565, 569 (1) (b) (845 SE2d 305) (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted). Case No. WebTORRES v. THE STATE. Alfords sympathy evaporated. Torres must satisfy both prongs of the Strickland test, and if he is unable to satisfy one, we need not examine the other. The punishment currently prescribed for a terroristic threats conviction reads as follows: OCGA 16-11-37(d)(1). The court then stated: Im going to slowly and carefully define those offenses for you. The trial court recharged the jury as to elements of a crime, the States burden of proof, and the definitions of the charged offenses. 210, 213(2), 699 S.E.2d 392 (2010) (indictment survived general demurrer because it both tracked the language of the statute and described the acts constituting the offense sufficiently to put the defendant on notice of the offense with which he was charged). startxref 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. The attack, prosecuted under the state's Street Gang Terrorism law, came several weeks after a white supremacist killed nine black worshipers at a South Carolina church, sparking a backlash against public displays of the Confederate battle flag. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas. The trial court brought the jury into the courtroom and addressed its questions. The court responded: I respectfully disagree, and I told yall ahead of time what I was going to do, and there was no issue, and this is sort of an afterthefact objection, as far as thats concerned. You didnt take a plea because you thought you were gonna get off. Kayla Rae Norton and her partner, Jose Ismael Torres, both wept copiously as Douglas County Judge William McClain passed sentence. See also Martinez-Chavez v. State, 352 Ga.App. We disagree. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion, and this enumeration of error fails. Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. Stokes v. State, 355 Ga. App. Docket Number: A21A1148: Decision Date: C. J., MCFADDEN, P. J., and SENIOR APPELLATE JUDGE PHIPPS . Stokes v. State, 355 Ga.App. But Alford wasnt so sure. Two years ago, Jose Ismael Torres was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He said it had been his intent to kill black people and start a race war. IE 11 is not supported. Torres also claims in a one-paragraph argument that his five-year sentence on the terroristic threats count is void because Count 4 only charged a misdemeanor, not a felony. 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Pursuant to section 775.087(2)(a)1.p., Florida Statutes (2015), the ten-year minimum mandatory sentence should have been imposed for the crime of possession of a firearm during the commission of a trafficking offense. I forgive you. Most of the flag group members were sentenced to misdemeanors or put into diversion programs. Prosecutors said Torres pointed a shotgun at the party. Women, Influence & Power in Law UK Awards 2023, LITIGATION ATTORNEY - ATLANTA, GEORGIA- ENTRY LEVEL, AARONSON RAPPAPORT FEINSTEIN & DEUTSCH, LLP, The Art of Entertainment Law: A Conversation with Robert A. Celestin, Buying Legal Council Appoints Jason Winmill as New Chair, Understanding the Las Vegas Crime Rate with Attorney Tony Sgro, Introducing Virginia Ivanova, Esq. 0000004744 00000 n Stay up-to-date with how the trial court brought the jury box on Monday, said! Recaptcha and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply withstand a demurrer! 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