I suppose Confederate flags can be interpreted different ways and in different context. The display of the battle flag hadnt disturbed Alford all that much. 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. With Confederate battle flags attached to their trucks, they threatened African-American motorists and shoppers at a local Walmart and convenience store. This Court reviews de novo whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. 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. 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. We conclude that the trial court did not err in denying Torress motion for a new trial on this ground. << . Thats kind of what I perceived that they wanted[.] The court then stated: "I'm going to slowly and carefully define those offenses for you." This Court reviews de novo whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. Not until the following October, almost three months later, were members of Respect The Flag indicted for their activities in July. 84, 88-89(3), 842 S.E.2d 532 (2020). Prosecutors said that the group threatened black motorists and walked up to one of their cars with a gun. See also MartinezChavez v. State, 352 Ga. App. 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. Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge. See Bautista v. State, 305 Ga. App. On February 26, Superior Court Judge William McClain sentenced Torres to 13 years in prison, and Norton to six. The sentencing comes in the aftermath of the recent sentencing of white supremacist, Dylan Roof who had massacred nine African-Americans at a Charleston church, with the youth using the Confederate flag as a symbol on his I am not a mean spirited person and Im sorry for your family that it had to come this far.. 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." Certified Lawyer Norton and Torres were charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic treats and violating the Georgia Street Gang Act. State v. Grube, 293 Ga. 257, 260 (2) (744 SE2d 1) (2013). Would love your thoughts, please comment. Access to additional free ALM publications, 1 free article* across the ALM subscription network every 30 days, Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications. Confederate flag supporters at the South Carolina capitol. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion, and this enumeration of error fails. . 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. Jose Ismael Torres was arrested Monday by Altamonte Springs police in a Volusia County hotel room. at 881 882 (II). "1 Poole, 326 Ga. App. The trial court brought the jury into the courtroom and addressed its questions. What happened to you was horrible, she said, as she wiped away tears. See id. 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. Widner, 280 Ga. at 677(2), 631 S.E.2d 675 (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. Listed below are those cases in which this Featured Case is cited. Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided. At issue here is how the trial court handled the request for the "definitions of the charges." The video posted above showed police officers holding back the mostly black party guests while the parade of Confederate flag trucks drove past. 5d16-4395 state of florida, appellee. 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 . 149 863 S.E.2d 399. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. The email address cannot be subscribed. 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. Douglas County Assistant District Attorney David Emadi recounted the moment when Torres leveleda gun at birthday party guests in her front yard. Women, Influence & Power in Law UK Awards 2023, LITIGATION ATTORNEY - ATLANTA, GEORGIA- ENTRY LEVEL, AARONSON RAPPAPORT FEINSTEIN & DEUTSCH, LLP, The Art of Entertainment Law: A Conversation with Robert A. Celestin, Buying Legal Council Appoints Jason Winmill as New Chair, Understanding the Las Vegas Crime Rate with Attorney Tony Sgro, Introducing Virginia Ivanova, Esq. About Us| Both were also banished from Douglas County, a racially diverse community a few miles west of Atlanta. 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). 45 20 Site Map, Advertise| 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. 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-. 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. 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. 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. 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. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. I think the tears were mainly because they got caught, Alford said. Torres appeals following the denial of his motion for a new trial. 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. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in sentencing Torres on his terroristic threats conviction. 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. The two were found guilty in The jurors did not request additional charges or state that they needed any additional information. 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. All right?" 0000026062 00000 n 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. 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. (citation and punctuation omitted). 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. 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). Terms of Service. Norton had chosen to ride along on that convoys racist tear across two counties. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687 (III). Torres contends that his trial counsel should have filed a general demurrer to Count 4 of the indictment the terroristic threats charge because the indictment did not name a specific victim in that count. 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. 0000004985 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. (WXIA), More people plead guilty to the crime and are serving lighter sentences. Shes aware that some people have said the sentences were too harsh for the couple, especially since no one was physically injured. Here, Torres failed to establish deficient performance. "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." Georgia residents Jose Ismael Torres and Kayla Rae Norton were sentenced to lengthy prison terms February 26 for their participation in a two-day-long series of hate crimes that terrorized minorities throughout Douglas and Paulding counties in July 2015, one month after white supremacist (and Confederate battle flag admirer) Dylann Roof murdered nine African-American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, in hopes of starting a race war. All Rights Reserved. Relatives. Contact Us| 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. The pair had joined a group called Respect the Flag that drunkenly drove around Georgias Douglas and Paulding counties over two days in July 2015. 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. A jury found Jose Ismael Torres guilty of making terroristic threats, criminal street gang activity, and three counts of aggravated assault. >> at 395(2), 819 S.E.2d 682. In fact, Torress trial counsel specifically testified at the hearing on Torress motion for a new trial that he did not file a general demurrer because although the indictment did not name a specific person, one or more video recordings showed several persons at the party. Barnes v. State, 305 Ga. 18, 23(3), 823 S.E.2d 302 (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. 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. 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! 0000027840 00000 n endobj Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. 565, 569 (1) (b) (845 SE2d 305) (2020) (citation and punctuation omitted). The trial court found that trial counsel was not ineffective in this regard. 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. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District. Only four were charged with felonies. She is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Stewart v. State, 246 Ga. 70, 72 (2) (268 SE2d 906) (1980); accord Poole, 326 Ga. App. I forgive all of you. That is not me. 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. So your exception is noted and overruled. 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 noted that the pair would both have been aware of white supremacist Dylann Roofs attack on a predominantly black Charleston church that left nine dead less than a month before. Dozier v. State, 306 Ga. 29, 32(3), 829 S.E.2d 131 (2019) (citation and punctuation omitted). By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. /Info 43 0 R 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. 0000004744 00000 n Here, "the jury asked for a charge upon a specific point [ the definitions of the offenses ] and the jury was charged upon that point." Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. 45 0 obj 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. A man convicted of terrorizing a child's birthday party with racial slurs is asking a judge for bond. >> Well kill all the little (racial epithet)s.. She said she could see he was scared on Monday, but she also remembered his rage on that summer day nearly two years ago. Elizabeth Dalia Racine , Sean Garrett , Aimee Fatemeh Sobhani , for Appellee. Manner v. State, 302 Ga. 877, 881(II), 808 S.E.2d 681 (2017). Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. PER Kayla Rae Norton and her partner, Jose Ismael Torres, both wept copiously as Douglas County Judge William McClain passed sentence. 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