Boutique law firm specializing in sophisticated real estate litigation &representation of commercial and residential tenants seeks one ( CASH KRUGLER & FREDERICKS LLC is Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary & Newest Partners! /Pages 42 0 R When that gun was loaded, did you think about your children then? Alford said in an interview with the AJC on Tuesday. On Monday, Alford said, Kayla Nortons tears may have come from remorse. Related: Rebel Flag Fans Face Gang Charge for Crashing Black Kids Party. Under the first prong of this test, counsels performance will be found deficient only if it was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances and in light of prevailing professional norms. Manner v. State, 302 Ga. 877, 881 (II) (808 SE2d 681) (2017). Only four were charged with felonies. Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? Case No. 46 0 obj Heres what you need to know about Torres, Norton and the results of their recent trial: Kayla Norton (credit: Douglas County DA Facebook page). 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." I forgive you. >> Making a lesser penalty applicable to offenses committed prior to the enactment of the legislation creating the lesser penalty is contrary to the judicial interpretation of the laws of this State under which the penalty for a criminal offense relates only to those offenses committed when and after such legislation becomes effective. The constitutional purpose for identifying the victim is to apprise the defendant of the charges against him. Also we would like the map display." Keep fg with our flag!!!!!! 584, 587 (6) (666 SE2d 674) (2008). ", 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. See Maynard v. State, 355 Ga.App. 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. We disagree. 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. 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). A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. (citation and punctuation omitted). Manner v. State, 302 Ga. 877, 881(II), 808 S.E.2d 681 (2017). 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. 565, 569 (1) (b) (845 SE2d 305) (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted). I wasnt mad about them flying those flags, Alford said. Summers is serving four years in prison and Henderson is serving two. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in sentencing Torres on his terroristic threats conviction. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. 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 am not a mean spirited person and Im sorry for your family that it had to come this far.. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion, and this enumeration of error fails. Torres appeals following the Torres contends that his trial counsel should have filed a general demuurer to Count 4 of the indictment the terroristic threats charge because the indictment did not name a specific victim in that count. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. >> 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. 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. Prosecutors say that Norton and Torres started using menacing language. In other words, if an accused would be guilty of the crime charged if the facts as alleged in the indictment are taken as true, then the indictment is sufficient to withstand a general demurrer; however, if an accused can admit to all of the facts charged in the indictment and still be innocent of a crime, the indictment is insufficient and is subject to a general demurrer. They used racial slurs and threatened to kill some of the party goers. RELATED: Racist threats outside black child's party lead to prison sentence. at 394 (2), the defendant threatened to stab a man, gangrape his wife, and shoot up the couples apartment. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, and Kayla Rae Norton, 25 reportedly parents of three children were found guilty earlier this month of violating the states street-gang The two were found guilty in February of street-gang terrorism for their roles in the pickup truck convoy, and on Monday McClain threw the book at them. 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. Magazines, Digital A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. 3. Hyesha Bryant, who was with her 3 children at the party, accepted the apology. The display of the battle flag hadnt disturbed Alford all that much. Norton and Torres were charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic treats and violating the Georgia Street Gang Act. About Us| Relatives. /S 495 Jose Ismael TORRES, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. (citation and punctuation omitted). 2052. This claim lacks merit. 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. Our second option allows you to build your bundle and strategically select the content that pertains to your needs. At issue here is how the trial court handled the request for the "definitions of the charges." Despite the multiple 911 calls inspired by Respect The Flags actions, when Douglasville police arrived at the childs birthday party they did not make any arrests. 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. WebB2 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2023 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW BROWARD U.S. DISTRICT 23-cv-80259-RLR, Chanel, Inc. v. Eye of the Needle Palm /O 47 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. 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. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). When Will South Carolina Take Down the Confederate Flag? The register of actions Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. 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. I think the tears were mainly because they got caught, Alford said. 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. But Alford wasnt so sure. Norton had chosen to ride along on that convoys racist tear across two counties. Contact an Account Specialist [emailprotected] | +1-855-808-4530 (Americas) | +44(0) 800 098 86009 (UK & Europe), Perkins Coie Lays Off 58 Business Professionals, Cravath Set for English Law Debut with Shearman Double Partner Hire, Early Reports: 2023 Am Law 200 Financials, Proskauer Lands Cooley Strategy Leader in New C-Suite Role, AI Has Gone Mainstream. [w]ith the purpose of terrorizing another[,] or . << See Bryant v. State, 306 Ga. 687, 689(1), n. 2, 832 S.E.2d 826 (2019); Christian v. State, 347 Ga.App. /L 101483 Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? 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After their release, the two are permanently banned from Douglas County. 0000000017 00000 n Your Real Estate Legal and Brokerage Expert. He called their actions a hate crime and sentenced Torres to 20 years, with 13 to serve, and Norton to 13 years, six to serve. Site Map, Advertise| 0000006358 00000 n A man convicted of terrorizing a child's birthday party with racial slurs is asking a judge for bond. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Photos: Hate crime in Douglasville, Georgia. stream That is not me. 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." Jose Torres did not address the court or any courtroom witnesses during his sentencing hearing, but Kayla Norton did speak to birthday-party guests who were in court that day. See Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49, 60(5), 766 S.E.2d 1 (2014) (an ineffective-assistance claim is a mixed question of law and fact, and we accept the trial court's factual findings unless clearly erroneous and independently apply the law to those facts); see also Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 698(IV), 104 S.Ct. See Maynard v. State, 355 Ga. App. (Getty). "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." 0000013636 00000 n Torres and Norton were sentenced on one count each of making terroristic threats and violating Georgias street gang act; Torres was also convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Their actions were motivated by racial hatred, said Superior Court Judge William McClain. 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. According to the witnesses, a few people yelled fk yall ns and shoot em. When someone from the party said, There are kids here, a person from the convoy yelled, Well shoot those bastards, too., The SPLC also reported that after the party (but long before the grand jury indictments), a Respect The Flag sympathizer posted on Facebook that Trust me the last thing you want is a bunch of pissed off rednecks in jacked up trucks and Confederate flags flying to mess up that pretty lawn. All right?" It is within the courts discretion to recharge the jury in full or only upon the point or points requested. q 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). Join Facebook to connect with Jose Ismael Torres and others you may know. 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. With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. State v. Grube, 293 Ga. 257, 260 (2) (744 SE2d 1) (2013). 0000026062 00000 n /Names << /Dests 29 0 R>> The court then stated: "I'm going to slowly and carefully define those offenses for you." Of Florida, Appellee the Georgia street Gang activity, and three of. 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