Ryan v. State
Ryan v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant was convicted of armed robbery and appeals from the judgment and sentence entered on the jury verdict finding him guilty as charged. The only enumeration of error is that the trial court erred in failing to direct a verdict of acquittal in favor of appellant. Appellant contends that his confession, which was admitted into evidence by the trial court after a Jackson-Denno hearing, was uncorroborated and, therefore, insufficient to authorize a conviction. The victim was unable to positively identify appellant because her assailant wore a mask which completely covered his face. However, she did testify that, as she was opening the convenience store where she worked at 6:30 a.m., she was robbed by a man holding a large handgun who took her maroon pocketbook containing cash. In his confession to police officers, appellant stated that he robbed a female at the designated convenience store during the early morning hours and that he was armed with a gun. Appellant stated he took a red pocketbook from the victim.
“It is true that ‘ “[a] confession alone, uncorroborated by any other evidence shall not justify a conviction.” [OCGA § 24-3-53.] “However, proof of the corpus delicti is held to be sufficient corroboration.” [Cit.]’ Rosser v. State, 157 Ga. App. 161, 162 (2) (276 SE2d 672) (1981). See also Brown v. State, 167 Ga. App. 851 (307 SE2d 737) (1983); Patrick v. State, 169 Ga. App. 302 (2) (312 SE2d 385)
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.