Wallace v. State

Summary

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Deron Michael Wallace’s convictions for felony murder, armed robbery, and firearm possession, rejecting his claim that the State selectively prosecuted him more seriously than his accomplice. The court held that the record did not establish discriminatory animus or equal culpability and vacated Wallace’s convictions and sentences for theft by taking because those offenses merged into the armed robbery.

Holdings

1. Wallace failed to establish unlawful selective prosecution because the record did not show intentional and purposeful discrimination based on race, gender, or another unjustifiable standard, and it did not conclusively establish that Wallace and Cortez were equally culpable or equally cooperative with law enforcement.
2. The two theft-by-taking convictions and sentences had to be vacated because the thefts involved the gun and currency taken from the backpack during the same transaction for which Wallace was separately convicted of armed robbery.
3. The evidence was legally sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Wallace was guilty of the crimes of conviction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the State unlawfully selectively prosecuted Wallace by charging him with murder while charging his accomplice Cortez only with armed robbery and unlawful possession.
2. Whether Wallace's convictions and sentences for two counts of theft by taking could stand when the thefts involved property taken during the same transaction as the separately charged armed robbery.
3. Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support Wallace's convictions.

Disposition

vacated