She said she grew up seeing it all over the Alabama town where she was raised. I would never allow someone to be prosecuted for exercising his or her First Amendment right to fly whatever flag they choose, regardless of anyones personal feelings about it, Fortner wrote. [4] 3. 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. They wept in a Douglas County courtroom as a judge imposed their punishments: Torres, 26, convicted of aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and a violating street-gang statute, received 13 years in prison and another seven on probation; Norton, 25, convicted of making terroristic threats and violating the gang law, will serve 6 years in prison and nine on probation. Don't miss the crucial news and insights you need to make informed legal decisions. 621, 627(2), 760 S.E.2d 630 (2014) (counsel's performance cannot be deemed deficient for failing to file a general demurrer that would have been unsuccessful). at 395(2), 819 S.E.2d 682. This Court reviews de novo whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. 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Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge. 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. Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. Great opportunity for advancement. "Under the first prong of this test, counsel's performance will be found deficient only if it was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances and in light of prevailing professional norms." PHIPPS, Senior Appellate Judge. Law.com Compass includes access to our exclusive industry reports, combining the unmatched expertise of our analyst team with ALMs deep bench of proprietary information to provide insights that cant be found anywhere else. Law.com Compass delivers you the full scope of information, from the rankings of the Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 to intricate details and comparisons of firms financials, staffing, clients, news and events. I think the tears were mainly because they got caught, Alford said. So your exception is noted and overruled. Judgment affirmed. Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. Would love your thoughts, please comment. The yard was full of friends and family when Torres and their crew began hurling racial slurs at the party goers and threatening them. SPLC attorneys also brought witnesses to the prosecutor and have been representing some of the people at the party., The SPLC report included details most media sources omitted, including the exact threats and epithets Respect The Flag members allegedly shouted at party-goers. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. 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. Torres's counsel stated: Torres argues on appeal that the jurors' note requested a complete recharge of all the jury instructions and not simply a recharge of the definitions of the offenses. State v. Grube, 293 Ga. 257, 260 (2) (744 SE2d 1) (2013). /N 12 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. Widner v. State, 280 Ga. 675, 677 (2) (631 SE2d 675) (2006) (citation and punctuation omitted). Victims react as the sentences are read. The two are the last of 15 people charged in the confrontation at the 8-year-olds party, which took place in Douglasville in July 2015. 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. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District. That is not me. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in sentencing Torres on his terroristic threats conviction. 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. Your Real Estate Legal and Brokerage Expert. Jose Ismael Torres and Kayla Rae Norton Douglas County Sheriff's Office The Georgia group called itself Respect the Flag, and prior to the attack was seen driving in a Receive free daily summaries of new opinions from Count 4 of the indictment charged Torres with the offense of terroristic threats in that he, on July 25, 2015, did unlawfully threaten to commit a crime of violence to persons attending a party at 9037 Campbellton Street by threatening to shoot them, with the purpose of terrorizing those individuals and in reckless disregard for the risk of causing such terror. 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 . Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. That is not him. Jose Angel Fuentes Gago . 621, 627 (2) (760 SE2d 630) (2014) (counsels performance cannot be deemed deficient for failing to file a general demurrer that would have been unsuccessful). This claim therefore fails. They waved Confederate flags from pickup trucks, made armed threats against black motorists, and hurled racial epithets at attendees to the 8-year-olds birthday party, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. I forgive you. On Monday, Alford said, Kayla Nortons tears may have come from remorse. The video posted above showed police officers holding back the mostly black party guests while the parade of Confederate flag trucks drove past. 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). Georgia couple sent to prison for terrorizing black childs birthday party with Confederate flags, racial slurs. He said it had been his intent to kill black people and start a race war. Only four were charged with felonies. "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." That is not me. The disruption of the birthday party took place less than a month after white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine African-Americans at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. The trial court brought the jury into the courtroom and addressed its questions. Torres and Norton were found guilty of yelling racial slurs and threatening to kill partygoers, even the kids. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. The two were found guilty in Instead, the trial judge inadvertently applied it to the drug trafficking charge pursuant to section 893.135(1), Florida Statutes (2015). Douglas County District Attorney Brian Fortner said in an interview that the prosecution of the attack began with people with less serious involvement, and moved in toward those who drove it. Both options are priced the same. We conclude that the trial court did not err in denying Torres's motion for a new trial on this ground. 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. Elizabeth Dalia Racine , Sean Garrett , Aimee Fatemeh Sobhani , for Appellee. 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. In order to establish that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective, Torres must show that his attorneys performance was deficient and that he was prejudiced by the deficient performance. Were going to kill some (racial epithet)s today, Emadi said, quoting witnesses present during the standoff. << Want to discuss? We find no reversible error in the trial courts response to the question. PHIPPS, Senior Appellate Judge. IE 11 is not supported. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that Hyesha Bryant, who was at the party with her three children, said We all have to be held accountable for our actions. 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." What happened to you is absolutely awful.. Norton had chosen to ride along on that convoys racist tear across two counties. The Judge Criticized Douglasville Police For Not Arresting Anybody at the Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team. In Christian, 347 Ga. App. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Torres could not admit the conduct alleged in Count 4 and still be innocent of making terroristic threats. Dyer v. State, 167 Ga.App. At the time, Douglasville police said in an emailed statement that Officers on scene were given conflicting statements as to what led up to the confrontation. Levi Bush, a Respect The Flag member who drove one of the pickup trucks, initially blamed party-goers for instigating the encounter. It is within the courts discretion to recharge the jury in full or only upon the point or points requested. She was even used to hearing the type of slurs hurled at her and her guests. If you drive around town with a Confederate flag, yelling the N-word, you know how its going to be interpreted, he said. 391, 394 (2) (819 SE2d 682) (2018). A man and woman were sentenced to 13 and six years in prison for joining a group of Confederate flag supporters who threatened a Georgia community. /Metadata 44 0 R Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? 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. Isnt it time we heard from UGAs Kirby Smart? See id. 1. Two others had earlier pleaded guilty to similar charges and received lesser sentences. A man and a woman were sentenced Monday to 13 and six years in prison, respectively, for joining a group of Confederate flag supporters who in 2015 drove around a small Georgia community threatening people, including a gathering of African-Americans celebrating a young boy's birthday. WebJose Ismael Torres, Wewahitchka, pro se. Torres must satisfy both prongs of the Strickland test, and if he is unable to satisfy one, we need not examine the other. Id. It was when they pulled them guns and said Im gonna shoot the little bastards.. 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. At some point, Norton and Torres confronted a black family that was throwing an 8-year-olds birthday party in the front yard of their home. 0000005931 00000 n Case No. Customer Service| "A trial court has a duty to recharge the jury on issues for which the jury requests a recharge." Threatening to kill partygoers, even the kids happened to you is absolutely..! Yelling racial slurs at the party goers and threatening to kill partygoers, even kids... National stories delivered to your inbox every weekday georgia couple sent to prison for terrorizing black childs party... 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