Georgia Supreme Court upholds murder conviction of Pyatt

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of Tremaine Pyatt in the shooting death of a man following an argument outside a nightclub in Columbus.

The court ruled 4-3 in the conviction of Pyatt in the 2007 shooting death of Meredith “Tag” Rhodes, a suspended deputy sheriff. Pyatt was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the death.

In Friday’s majority opinion, written by Justice Keith Blackwell, the high court rejected all his arguments, finding that “Pyatt was among a group that fired at least three handguns, one of which fatally wounded Rhodes. The state was not required to prove that Pyatt himself fired the fatal shot, so long as it proved that he was a party to the fatal shooting.” Here, “we conclude that it was sufficient to permit a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Pyatt was guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted, whether as a principal or only an accomplice.”

During the evening of June 16, 2007, Rhodes and three friends decided to go to some nightclubs in Columbus. They went first to the VIP Lounge, but it was too crowded.

Before leaving, they picked up Saletta Perry and another woman who asked for a ride. Rhodes, his friends, and the two women then proceeded to Rogers Tap Room. After Rhodes parked the car behind the nightclub, he and his friends struck up a conversation with another group of women while Perry and her friend stood nearby. At some point, Pyatt and his friends came out of Rogers Tap Room. Pyatt and Perry had previously been involved in a romantic relationship, and they started to argue.

Rhodes got into his car to leave, and Perry and her friend joined him. As Rhodes drove away, Perry and her friend were hanging out of the car, shouting at Pyatt and continuing the argument. Pyatt shouted back and fired a handgun in the direction of the car. One of Pyatt’s friends recognized Rhodes and said that if he returned, he would shoot Rhodes, to which Pyatt responded, “I’m shooting.” Rhodes and the young women drove away, but Rhodes eventually turned around and headed back to Rogers Tap Room.

As they drove by the nightclub, several more gunshots were fired. The women were scared and got out of the car. But Rhodes, now driving alone, turned the car around and again drove past the nightclub. As he did, Pyatt and several other men standing along the street fired multiple shots at Rhodes as he passed the nightclub. Rhodes was hit and crashed the car into a parked vehicle. His friend found him, pulled him from the car, and he and Rhodes’ other friends tried to drive him to a hospital.

Rhodes later died from a gunshot wound to his neck, which severed his spinal cord. At the scene of the shooting, investigators found cartridge casings that had been ejected from at least three different handguns. One was consistent with the projectile that had killed Rhodes.

In August 2009, a jury found Pyatt guilty of the felony murder, based on the aggravated assault of Rhodes, and guilty of the aggravated assaults of Saletta Perry and her friend, Breanna Broadnax. The jury acquitted Pyatt of malice murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. He then appealed to the state Supreme Court, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt, the trial court erred by admitting certain evidence, the trial judge made an improper comment in the presence of the jury, the judge also erred in instructing the jury, he was denied a trial before a fair and impartial judge, and he was denied the effective assistance of counsel in violation of his constitutional rights.

At issue in the disagreement among the justices is Pyatt’s last argument. Specifically, Pyatt contends that his trial attorney was ineffective for failing to object on “ultimate issue” grounds when Detective Robert Jackson testified that in his opinion the shot fired by Rhodes as he drove away from the Rogers Tap Room the first time was an aggravated assault. On direct examination, Jackson testified at length about his investigation, including that he had obtained a warrant for Pyatt’s arrest for aggravated assault.

The prosecutor asked if the shot was fired toward the car. “The first shot, yes, sir,” the detective responded.

“Under our old Evidence Code, it was settled that ‘a witness [ordinarily] may not express his opinion as to an ultimate fact, because to do so would invade the province of the jury,’” the majority opinion stated. While the majority “assumes – without deciding” that the testimony was improper and the defense attorney should have objected, Pyatt must still show that his trial attorney’s failure to object was “prejudicial,” meaning had the attorney objected, the jury’s verdict likely would have been more favorable. “We conclude that Pyatt has failed to make that showing,” the majority stated..

The jury already knew the detective had obtained a warrant for Pyatt’s arrest for aggravated assault. “Although it may have been improper for Detective Jackson to share his subjective belief with the jury explicitly, any rational juror would have guessed that Detective Jackson believed as much without being told.” Furthermore, “this is not a case in which an improper opinion about the ultimate issue would have confused or misled the jury about the law to the prejudice of the defendant,” the opinion says. “Detective Jackson specified clearly that he believed the initial shot was an aggravated assault because he understood the witnesses to say that Pyatt fired the initial shot at Rhodes’ car.” Even more important, Pyatt’s trial attorney elicited essentially the same testimony on cross examination.

On the peculiar facts of this case, the justices conclude that Pyatt failed to show a reasonable probability that, if only his lawyer had objected to the opinion offered by Detective Jackson on direct examination about the first shot amounting to an aggravated assault, the outcome of the case would have been different, the majority states. “As such, Pyatt has failed to show that he was prejudiced by the allegedly deficient performance of his lawyer. His claim that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel is unavailing.” Joining the majority opinion are Chief Justice Hugh Thompson and Justices Harold Melton and David Nahmias.

In the dissent, however, Presiding Justice P. Harris Hines writes that, “I have no hesitation in finding that it was deficient performance for trial counsel to fail to object to the cited portion of Detective Jackson’s testimony; it was an impermissible comment on the ultimate issue of Pyatt’s guilt regarding the charges of aggravated assault, and resulted in prejudice to Pyatt. For a witness to express an opinion at trial as to the commission of the charged crime clearly invades the province of the jury.”

The jury “was charged with determining whether Pyatt attempted to cause violent injury by that act, and Detective Jackson told the jury that he did.”

“As there is a reasonable probability that the jury considered the improper testimony in its deliberation of all aggravated assault charges, including the fatal shooting, Pyatt should be retried as to all charges,” says the dissent, which is joined by Justices Robert Benham and Carol Hunstein.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 9:20 PM.