Perdomo v. State

Hamlet Perdomo was convicted by a Richmond County jury of felony murder in the shooting death of Carl Bush, along with aggravated assault, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy, multiple armed robberies, and several firearm charges committed against five other victims during a week-long 2010 crime spree involving Perdomo and two co-indictees traveling in a silver Nissan sedan. Perdomo was sentenced to life without parole plus additional consecutive sentences. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia, Perdomo argued only that the evidence was too weak to support his convictions, particularly for the murder of Bush, which he said rested on circumstantial evidence with no witnesses or proof anything was taken. The court reviewed the trial record, including witness identifications, fingerprint and firearm evidence tying Perdomo and his car to the crimes, and a recorded jail phone call in which he admitted involvement. The court concluded a reasonable jury could find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on every count and affirmed his convictions.

The evidence, though largely circumstantial as to the murder count, was legally sufficient because it excluded reasonable alternative theories and allowed a rational jury to find Perdomo guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on the felony murder charge and all other counts, including through party-to-the-crime liability.

The ruling confirms that Georgia juries may rely on circumstantial evidence, including fingerprints, matched vehicles, and recorded jail calls, to convict someone of felony murder and related crimes even without direct witnesses to the killing itself, reinforcing how such evidence functions at trial.

Affirmed

1. The court applied the sufficiency-of-the-evidence standard from Jackson v. Virginia, asking only whether a rational jury could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, without reweighing evidence or resolving conflicts itself.
2. For the circumstantial evidence supporting the murder charge, the court applied Georgia's circumstantial evidence rule (O.C.G.A. § 24-14-6), which requires that proven facts exclude every reasonable theory other than guilt, though not every conceivable alternative, leaving that judgment to the jury unless legally insupportable.
3. Applying that rule, the court found that testimony about a demand for property before the shooting, the missing wallet, the matching getaway car with Perdomo's fingerprints, the murder weapon found in that car, and Perdomo's recorded jail admission together excluded reasonable alternative theories of innocence for the felony murder charge.
4. For the aggravated assault of Melvin Williams and the related firearm charge, the court found Williams's identification of Perdomo as the driver and testimony about the shooting sufficient, relying on party-to-the-crime liability so that a getaway driver can be held responsible along with the shooter.
5. For the robberies, kidnapping, rape, and sodomy involving April Williams, Marshall, Jenkins, and E. H., the court found that Perdomo's own testimony placing himself in the vehicle during these crimes, combined with evidence all occupants participated, was enough to support his convictions.

• felony murder
• armed robbery
• circumstantial evidence
• rape and sodomy conviction
• Richmond County crime spree