If that trigger would have gone off there would have been dead bodies all over that yard, Alford said. 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. 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. But Alford wasnt so sure. 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. Poole v. State, 326 Ga. App. The register of actions 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. Both were also banished from Douglas County, a racially diverse community a few miles west of Atlanta. 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 The jurors did not request additional charges or state that they needed any additional information. That is not me. See Bautista v. State, 305 Ga.App. But the Douglasville Police Department eventually built the case for prosecution, Fortner said. This Court reviews de novo whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. Norton had chosen to ride along on that convoys racist tear across two counties. Jose Ismael Torres and Kayla Rae Norton during their July 2015 antagonizing of black Douglas County locals. 1. 0000000017 00000 n . Several of them were brandishing guns. 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. Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? Torres must satisfy both prongs of the Strickland test, and if he is unable to satisfy one, we need not examine the other. She said she could see he was scared on Monday, but she also remembered his rage on that summer day nearly two years ago. 310, 311(3), 306 S.E.2d 313 (1983) (citations and punctuation omitted). At least two witnesses to the confrontation recorded the incident on their cellphone cameras and posted the footage online. 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. Davis v. State, 306 Ga. 140, 144 (3) (829 SE2d 321) (2019). I am not a mean spirited person and Im sorry for your family that it had to come this far.. 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. Heres what you need to know about Torres, Norton and the results of their recent trial: Kayla Norton (credit: Douglas County DA Facebook page). [c]ommit any crime of violence . WebIn the Court of Appeals of Georgia A21A1148. Jose Torres, left, weeps in his seat while during his sentencing at the Douglas County Courthouse in Douglasville, Ga., Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. "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." Torres could not admit the conduct alleged in Count 4 and still be innocent of making terroristic threats. 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. 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 next day they kept up their campaign and happened upon Alfords party for her 27-year-old son and her 8-year-old grandson. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in sentencing Torres on his terroristic threats conviction. We find no reversible error in the trial courts response to the question. 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. I forgive all of you, Bryant said as Norton and Torres wept. at 247 (2) (citation and punctuation omitted). 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. 0000013636 00000 n (WXIA), More people plead guilty to the crime and are serving lighter sentences. Related: Rebel Flag Fans Face Gang Charge for Crashing Black Kids Party. 0 0000027251 00000 n That is not him. Jon Schuppe is an enterprise reporter for NBC News, based in New York. 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. Prosecutors acknowledge that Norton was not one of riders who pointed shotguns at the group, but prosecutors say that she hurled menacing threats while yelling a racial epithet. 3. Rickman, C. J., and McFadden, P. J., concur. Relatives. Jose Ismael TORRES, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. /Metadata 44 0 R Docket Number: A21A1148: Decision Date: C. J., MCFADDEN, P. J., and SENIOR APPELLATE JUDGE PHIPPS . 310, 311 (3) (306 SE2d 313) (1983) (citations and punctuation omitted). 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. Web69,783 court search results for people named "Jose Torres" in the United States. "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." You may return and deliberate. The jurors did not request additional charges or state that they needed any additional information. There is no hate crime law; Torres and Kayla Norton were convicted under the Street Gang Terrorism Act. WebJose Ismael Arreola v. The State of Texas Appeal from 195th Judicial District Court of Dallas County (opinion ) Annotate this Case Download PDF Search this Case Google Scholar Google Books Legal Blogs Google Web Bing Web Google News Google News Archive Yahoo! (WXIA), Arrest warrant issued for Jalen Carter for racing in connection to deadly UGA crash, Timeline | Multiple rounds of strong to severe storms possible, Forecast | Shower and storms increase to finish the week, Racist threats outside black child's party lead to prison sentence. The yard was full of friends and family when Torres and their crew began hurling racial slurs at the party goers and threatening them. As he sentenced the duo, judge McClain castigated them for their behavior. Prosecutors say that Norton and Torres started using menacing language. 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. /Prev 100447 149 863 S.E.2d 399. Only four were charged with felonies. The judge ordered the two permanently banished from Douglas County once they are released. << Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. 84, 88-89(3), 842 S.E.2d 532 (2020). /N 12 /E 46291 >> [3] See Subar v. State, 309 Ga. 805, 809 (2) (848 SE2d 109) (2020) (where indictment was sufficient to survive a general demurrer, trial counsels failure to file such a meritless motion could not be deemed deficient performance); Bradford v. State, 327 Ga. App. Torres was allegedly in one of several trucks covered in Confederate flags that drove around Paulding and Douglas counties intimidating people who passed by. We conclude that the trial court did not err in denying Torress motion for a new trial on this ground. 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." 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. 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. The two sentenced Monday, Jose Torres and Kayla Norton, who authorities said yelled racist slurs and threatened the birthday revelers with a shotgun, were the last of the group to be sentenced. Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kaylee D. Tatman, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee. PHIPPS, Senior Appellate Judge. /Pages 42 0 R We affirm Torres' judgment and sentence without further comment but remand for correction of a scrivener's error. Our Team Account subscription service is for legal teams of four or more attorneys. 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. EpiPens dont work in space? Please read our Commenting Policy first. at 881-882(II), 808 S.E.2d 681. WebTORRES v. The STATE. Kayla Rae Norton and her partner, Jose Ismael Torres, a gun at birthday party guests in her front yard. At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. 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." (Getty). 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. 0000017752 00000 n 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. 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. 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). The Daily Report is honoring those attorneys and judges who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession. ', Black Man Says Group Assaulted Him, Said 'Get a Noose' and 2 People Hit with Car at Protest, 2 Men Charged After Pinning Black Man to Tree in Indiana Incident Captured on Viral Video, Dylann Roof Sentenced to Death for Killing 9 Black People in Charleston Church. She is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. 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." We disagree. 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. 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. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. I accept responsibility for what I did, but that was not me.. Confederate flag supporters at the South Carolina capitol. About Us| 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 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! Tell the AJC: How do you experience race in Georgia? Alfords sympathy evaporated. at 247(2), 756 S.E.2d 322 (citation and punctuation omitted). Contact Us| 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. Certified Lawyer All right? There were no objections to the courts decision. Nortons Facebook posts also indicated that after the rampage, she spent a lot of time and effort on what the DA called a wide sweeping attempt to get all members of the Respect The Flag group to coordinate their stories, lie to the media about what happened, and cover up her role in retrieving the shotgun from Torres truck, loading it, and giving it to him just before the confrontation with guests at the birthday party. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion, and this enumeration of error fails. IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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). The email address cannot be subscribed. 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. Count 4 of Torress 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. 0000043358 00000 n Copyright 2023 ALM Global, LLC. 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. Were going to kill some (racial epithet)s today, Emadi said, quoting witnesses present during the standoff. See Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49, 60 (5) (766 SE2d 1) (2014) (an ineffectiveassistance claim is a mixed question of law and fact, and we accept the trial courts 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 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984). See Bryant v. State, 306 Ga. 687, 689(1), n. 2, 832 S.E.2d 826 (2019); Christian v. State, 347 Ga.App. !, District Attorney Brian Fortner (Credit: Douglas County DA Facebook page). 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). Victims look on as the sentences are read. 0000001512 00000 n They also threatened black shoppers at a convenience store and a Wal-Mart. 5 = / q n k p k M. We conclude that the trial court did not err in denying Torres's motion for a new trial on this ground. 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. Click on the case name to see the full text of the citing case. In Christian, 347 Ga. App. Jose Torres and Kayla Norton were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for a two-day hate crime spree in Douglas County, Georgia, Raw video of Confederate flag rally, birthday party-goers clashing, Two people convicted in a confederate flag confrontation at a childs birthday party have been sentenced. 243, 247(2)(a), 756 S.E.2d 322 (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. 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. The constitutional purpose for identifying the victim is to apprise the defendant of the charges against him. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. 0000004985 00000 n Instead, this case was about a group of people riding around our community, drinking alcohol, harassing and intimidating our citizens because of the color of their skin. Fortners statement went on to say that at the childs birthday party, members of Respect The Flag pulled out a shotgun and pointed it at the victims. Stokes v. State, 355 Ga.App. They eventually clashed with an African American family holding a birthday party, threatening them with a knife, tire iron and a gun. As a result, a general demurrer would not have been successful, and Torres's counsel did not perform deficiently by failing to pursue a meritless demurrer as to Count 4.3 See Subar v. State, 309 Ga. 805, 809(2), 848 S.E.2d 109 (2020) (where indictment was sufficient to survive a general demurrer, trial counsel's failure to file such a meritless motion could not be deemed deficient performance); Bradford v. State, 327 Ga.App. >> Norton was sentenced to 15 years, with a minimum of six to serve. /P 0 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-. 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