Washington v. State
Docket: 77558
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia; January 31, 1989; Georgia; State Appellate Court
Appellant was convicted of aggravated assault after a jury trial on a two-count indictment, which included charges of malice murder and felony murder through aggravated assault. The trial court charged the jury on aggravated assault as a lesser included offense without a request from the appellant. The appellant contended on appeal that the indictment failed to include a necessary element of aggravated assault, arguing that this made the charge inappropriate. The court clarified that to convict for a lesser offense, the greater offense must contain all essential elements of the lesser offense. In this case, the felony murder count directly referenced aggravated assault as the underlying felony, thus establishing aggravated assault as a lesser included offense. The court noted that the appellant did not file a pre-trial demurrer to challenge the indictment's adequacy, which limited his arguments on appeal. The evidence supported a finding that the appellant had committed aggravated assault by beating the victim, which justified the trial court's instruction to the jury. Ultimately, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction, holding that the trial court acted correctly in charging the jury on aggravated assault as a lesser included offense of felony murder. The judges concurred with the decision.