jose ismael torres appeal

jose ismael torres appeal

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 video posted above showed police officers holding back the mostly black party guests while the parade of Confederate flag trucks drove past. This claim therefore fails.4. Powered by. I forgive you. 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. So, why you crying now?. 84, 88-89(3), 842 S.E.2d 532 (2020). They also threatened black shoppers at a convenience store and a Wal-Mart. 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. As he sentenced the duo, judge McClain castigated them for their behavior. 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. 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. On Monday, Superior Court Judge William McClain, who described the pairs actions as being motivated by racial hatred, sentenced Torres to 20 years, with 13 to serve in prison, and Norton to 15, with six to serve. "A trial court has a duty to recharge the jury on issues for which the jury requests a recharge." Both options are priced the same. When that gun was loaded, did you think about your children then? Alford said in an interview with the AJC on Tuesday. Their actions were motivated by racial hatred, said Superior Court Judge William McClain. 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. All Rights Reserved. Isnt it time we heard from UGAs Kirby Smart? /Metadata 44 0 R 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 Leagle.com reserves the right to edit or remove comments but is under no obligation to do so, or to explain individual moderation decisions. 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. Torress counsel stated: As I understood the question, they were asking about the 18page document. The jurors did not request additional charges or state that they needed any additional information. Kayla Rae Norton, 25, and Jose Ismael Torres, 26, were convicted this month of violating the state's street-gang terrorism law and have been held without bond as they await sentencing. The industry-leading media platform offering competitive intelligence to prepare for today and anticipate opportunities for future success. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 142, 143(1), 834 S.E.2d 139 (2019) (a trial court is obligated to sentence a defendant pursuant to the statute in effect at the time he committed the offense). 0000001512 00000 n Both wept as the sentences were handed down Monday in Douglas County, west of Atlanta. Douglasvilles population is 35 percent white and almost 60 percent black. at 881-882(II), 808 S.E.2d 681. In Christian, 347 Ga. App. 46 0 obj After the jurors returned to deliberate, the trial court asked counsel whether counsel had any concerns or objections. Two others, Thomas Charles Summers and Lacey Paul Henderson II, had pleaded guilty to terroristic threat and battery charges prior to Monday. 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. 0000000729 00000 n Two years ago, Jose Ismael Torres was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Norton was sentenced on one count of violating Georgias street gang act and one count of making terroristic threats. /O 47 At issue here is how the trial court handled the request for the "definitions of the charges." 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. That is not him. 0000016559 00000 n Mother-to-mother, I cant imagine what it was like to explain what that word means to a child. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, and Kayla Rae Norton, 25, were part of a group of 15 people who disrupted the 8-year-olds party in Douglasville in July 2015, less than a month after white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine African-Americans at a Receive free daily summaries of new opinions from Contact us. 0000027840 00000 n Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. /E 46291 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. /Size 65 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 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. Gain access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced attorneys with our 2 bundle options! Prosecutors said Torres pointed a shotgun at the party. 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. At the sentencing hearing, Assistant DA David Emadi told the judge that They repeatedly yelled death threats saying they were going to killing all the N-. % Only four were charged with felonies. See id. /T 100459 I accept responsibility for what I did, but that was not me. WSB-TVs coverage also quoted Norton as saying, The worst decision Ive ever made in my life was to not walk away when I had the chance. Our Compliance bundles are curated by CLE Counselors and include current legal topics and challenges within the industry. Related: Rebel Flag Fans Face Gang Charge for Crashing Black Kids Party. Torres appeals following the Please read our Commenting Policy first. WebJose Ismael Torres is on Facebook. 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 . Join Facebook to connect with Jose Ismael Torres and others you may know. All Rights Reserved. Widner, 280 Ga. at 677 (2) (citation and punctuation omitted). 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. The trial court brought the jury into the courtroom and addressed its questions. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison; Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years, Atlanta news outlets report. 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. Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? . Addressing several of the victims who had come to court to witness the sentencing, Norton expressed remorse, saying: I do accept responsibility for what Ive done. 2. Jose Ismael Torres, 26, will spend 13 years in prison; Kayla Rae Norton, 25, is to serve six years, Atlanta news outlets report. See also Martinez-Chavez v. State, 352 Ga.App. 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. With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. [w]ith the purpose of terrorizing another[,] or . Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. The punishment currently prescribed for a terroristic threats conviction reads as follows: OCGA 16-11-37(d)(1). Accordingly, the trial court did not err in sentencing Torres on his terroristic threats conviction. Two people have been jailed for their role in ruining a black child's birthday party with Confederate flags, racial slurs and armed threats. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. Stokes v. 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