Watford v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions for two counts of making a false statement, two counts of forgery in the first degree, giving false information to a law enforcement officer, driving with a suspended license, speeding and bail jumping.

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Following a jury trial, Andre Craig Watford was convicted of two counts of making a false statement, two counts of forgery in the first degree, giving false information to a law enforcement officer, driving with a suspended license, speeding, and bail jumping. Watford appeals following the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and evidence of other crimes or wrongs was improperly admitted at trial. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Browder v. State, 294 Ga. 188, 191 1 751 SE2d 354 2013, the evidence at trial showed that at approximately 2:00 a.m. on January 16, 2012, an officer with the Cobb County Police Department conducted a traffic stop of a silver 2005 Acura TSX on Interstate 20 after determining with a laser device that the vehicle was traveling 80 miles-per-hour in a 60 mile-per-hour zone. The officer identified Watford at trial as the driver of the vehicle. The driver, who was accompanied by a female passenger, did not have a driver’s license with him, and he identified himself as Jamal Hayes and gave a date of birth of December 4, 1987. The driver stated that he had a driver’s license from Washington D. C. The officer, however, was unable to find a Jamal Hayes with a Washington D. C. driver’s license with the field reporting system in his vehicle, but he found a Jamaal Hayes with a Washington D. C. driver’s license and a December 4, 1987 date of birth. The officer wrote the driver a citation for speeding and a separate citation for not having a license on his person. The driver signed both citations as Jamal Hayes. Although the officer was suspicious, he permitted the driver to leave after he wrote the citations.

Watford v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions for two counts of making a false statement, two counts of forgery in the first degree, giving false information to a law enforcement officer, driving with a suspended license, speeding and bail jumping.

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