All rights reserved. He asserts that (1) the trial court abused its discretion by failing to completely answer a question posed by the deliberating jury, and (2) his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to make a general demurrer to the terroristic threats count in the indictment. Torres could not admit the conduct alleged in Count 4 and still be innocent of making terroristic threats. They got what they got, she said. Alford, 46, and other victims sat in the jury box on Monday through much of the sentencing hearing. My understanding was that the Court was going to read the same thing that you read to them in [the full jury] charge, rather than just the charges themselves. According to court testimony, Kayla Rae Norton, 25, and Jose Ismael Torres, 26, were acting as part of a group that called themselves Respect the Flag. On July 24 and 25, 2015, the group rode through Douglaston, Georgia, in pickup trucks that were flying American, military and Confederate flags. Access to additional free ALM publications, 1 free article* across the ALM subscription network every 30 days, Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications. Certified Lawyer Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge. "The necessity, extent, and character of any supplemental instructions to the jury are matters within the discretion of the trial court and appellate review is limited to determining whether that discretion was abused." 0000016559 00000 n 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. 310, 311 (3) (306 SE2d 313) (1983) (citations and punctuation omitted). At the conclusion of the recharge, the trial court stated, "I think I've answered your questions. In addition, at no point did the jurors ask for additional instructions either during or after the recharge. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Women, Influence & Power in Law UK Awards honors women lawyers who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession. All Rights Reserved. 0000027251 00000 n Norton was sentenced on one count of violating Georgias street gang act and one count of making terroristic threats. I forgive you. Powered by. (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. I will simply not tolerate this type of behavior in our community.. 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. We disagree. Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? Also we would like the map display." ? 0-5 year associate attorney needed for a civil litigation firm in the Buckheadarea. He asserts that (1) the trial court abused its discretion by failing to completely answer a question posed by the deliberating jury, and (2) his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to make a general demurrer to the terroristic threats count in the indictment. 2. The two were found guilty in at 395 (2). Look at Facebook, and Facebook looks back at you (Getty), After Torres and Norton were convicted, the Douglas County District Attorneys office said on its Facebook page that Following a review of over 10,000 pages of Facebook documents, law enforcement was able to locate numerous posts and messages indicating that members of the group were white supremacists who discussed attending KKK rallies, joining Skinheads Nation, and making numerous derogatory remarks about African Americans as a whole.. This Court affirmed the five-year sentences imposed for each terroristic threat, concluding that each threat suggest[ed] the death of the husband and wife. Id. The children at the party heard and saw much of the altercation. 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. We likewise find that Torress threat to shoot the victims in this case suggested the death of the victims, and his five-year felony sentence would be lawful even under the current version of the statute. Site Map, Advertise| 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. !, District Attorney Brian Fortner (Credit: Douglas County DA Facebook page). This claim lacks merit. /Pages 42 0 R "1 Poole, 326 Ga. App. You gamble, you win or you lose.. Confederate flag supporters at the South Carolina capitol. WebTORRES v. THE STATE. at 395(2), 819 S.E.2d 682. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison; Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years, Atlanta news outlets report. As a result, a general demurrer would not have been successful, and Torress counsel did not perform deficiently by failing to pursue a meritless demurrer as to Count 4. 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). Rickman, C. J., and McFadden, P. J., concur. The court then stated: "I'm going to slowly and carefully define those offenses for you." 565, 569 (1) (b) (845 SE2d 305) (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted). Elizabeth Dalia Racine , Sean Garrett , Aimee Fatemeh Sobhani , for Appellee. Jose Torres & Kayla Norton: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. WebThe Appellate Case Inquiry System contains the register of actions for cases brought before the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. Rickman, C. J., and McFadden, P. J., concur. Both options are priced the same. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. WebJose Ismael Torres, 26, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and will serve 13, and Kayla Rae Norton, 25, received 15 years, serving six. License our industry-leading legal content to extend your thought leadership and build your brand. . In Christian, 347 Ga. App. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687 (III). EpiPens dont work in space? The decision to conduct a rigorous investigation led to a successful outcome that best served our community., Jose Torres (credit: Douglas County DA Facebook page), Despite or perhaps because of the Douglasville PDs initial reluctance to arrest any Respect The Flag members, the Southern Poverty Law Center launched an investigation almost immediately after the July 2015 incident. Dozier v. State, 306 Ga. 29, 32(3), 829 S.E.2d 131 (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). /E 46291 Court of Appeals of Georgia.https://leagle.com/images/logo.png. Here, "the jury asked for a charge upon a specific point [ the definitions of the offenses ] and the jury was charged upon that point." 3. Roofs murders inspired South Carolina to finally take down the Confederate flag that had flown on its statehouse grounds since the Civil Rights Era and this, in turn, inspired Norton, Torres and just over a dozen other members of a group called Respect The Flag to spend July 24 and 25 driving through majority-minority neighborhoods in a convoy of pickup trucks festooned with Confederate flags. 64 0 obj After frantic 911 calls, Douglasville police arrived and forced Torres, Norton and their group to leave. 84, 88-89 (3) (842 SE2d 532) (2020). 243, 247(2)(a), 756 S.E.2d 322 (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). Two others, Thomas Charles Summers and Lacey Paul Henderson II, had pleaded guilty to terroristic threat and battery charges prior to Monday. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in sentencing Torres on his terroristic threats conviction. Assistant District Attorney David The next day they kept up their campaign and happened upon Alfords party for her 27-year-old son and her 8-year-old grandson. Torres was convicted of pulling out a gun and threatening to kill people at the event. 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. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Contact us. 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. at 247(2), 756 S.E.2d 322 (citation and punctuation omitted). In addition, even assuming that the new statutory language applied at the time of Torress sentencing in 2017, that language also authorizes a five-year sentence under the circumstances presented in this case. 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. According to court testimony, Kayla Rae Norton, 25, and Jose Ismael Torres, 26, were acting as part of a group that called themselves Respect the Flag. On July 24 PHIPPS, Senior Appellate Judge. As he sentenced the duo, judge McClain castigated them for their behavior. Two years ago, Jose Ismael Torres was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Mother-to-mother, I cant imagine what it was like to explain what that word means to a child. We disagree. 0000026062 00000 n 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. 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. xref /Info 43 0 R Stewart v. State, 246 Ga. 70, 72(2), 268 S.E.2d 906 (1980); accord Poole, 326 Ga. App. Also we would like the map display. At issue here is how the trial court handled the request for the definitions of the charges. After discussing the request with the attorneys, the trial court informed counsel, Ill just read the charges to them again slowly and carefully. << Kayla Rae Norton and her partner, Jose Ismael Torres, both wept copiously as Douglas County Judge William McClain passed sentence. 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. They even threatened to kill children at the party. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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). The constitutional purpose for identifying the victim is to apprise the defendant of the charges against him. . 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. Prosecutors say that Norton and Torres started using menacing language. We conclude that the terroristic threats count in this case was not fatally defective for failing to specify the names of the victims. 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. Our second option allows you to build your bundle and strategically select the content that pertains to your needs. A man and woman in Douglas County, in Georgia, have each been given double-digit sentences for their part in crashing an African-American childs birthday party, in what the judge said was a hate crime. He said it had been his intent to kill black people and start a race war. After discussing the request with the attorneys, the trial court informed counsel, "I'll just read the charges to them again slowly and carefully. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. They caused so much mayhem, McClain said, 911 call centers were flooded with calls. In Christian, 347 Ga. App. WebGet free access to the complete judgment in Torres v. State on CaseMine. See also Martinez-Chavez v. State, 352 Ga.App. This claim therefore fails.4. 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. He wants to be released while his case is under appeal. Webin the district court of appeal of the state of florida fifth district not final until time expires to file motion for rehearing and disposition thereof if filed jose ismael torres, appellant, v. case no. Although the jurors' note contained a parenthetical reference to the "18-page document" that comprised all jury instructions, the note specifically requested "the definitions of the charges." Two others had earlier pleaded guilty to similar charges and received lesser sentences. 45 0 obj WebJose Ismael Torres, Wewahitchka, pro se. % Officers and supervisors at the scene determined that it was prudent to get both sides of the story and gather more evidence, rather than making hasty decisions that ultimately could have jeopardized the case. WebJose Ismael Torres is on Facebook. Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. >> Despite the many news articles with such misleading headlines as Couple sentenced to prison for disrupting birthday party with Confederate flags, Douglasville District Attorney Brian Fortner specified, in a statement posted on the Douglas County District Attorneys Office Facebook page, that the flags had nothing to do with the legal penalties doled out to Torres, Norton or other members of the Respect the Flag group. Torres must satisfy both prongs of the Strickland test, and if he is unable to satisfy one, we need not examine the other. . The statute at that time contained no misdemeanor provisions. Docket Number: A21A1148: Decision Date: C. J., MCFADDEN, P. J., and SENIOR APPELLATE JUDGE PHIPPS . 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 and Norton were found guilty of yelling racial slurs and threatening to kill partygoers, even the kids. Web3/16/2023 6534034 chavarria jose 3/16/2023 6538208 diaz henry 3/16/2023 6516693 divine mark 3/16/2023 6538167 geghamyan hovhannes 3/16/2023 6540374 gonzalez luis 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. The party heard and saw much of the sentencing hearing is under appeal and count! J., and other victims sat in the legal profession of violating Georgias street gang,. Norton: 5 Fast Facts you Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All reserved! Violating Georgias street gang act and one count of making terroristic threats criminal... Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved C. J., and three counts of aggravated assault judgment in v.. Power to share and makes the world more open and connected Know Copyright! And McFadden, P. 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