Georgia v. Easter
Annotate this CaseIn the early morning hours of February 19, 2006, DeShawn Coatney returned home from work to find that the curtains had been disturbed. Afraid that appellee Andra Easter might be in her home, Coatney retrieved a gun she kept hidden on the top of her china cabinet and began to search each room of her home. Coatney discovered Easter hiding in a bedroom and saw that he was wearing rubber gloves and holding a crowbar. Coatney started to back out of the room as Easter came towards her holding the crowbar in an upright position. Coatney asked Easter what he was doing, but he did not answer, and instead, kept walking towards her. Coatney fired one shot, hitting Easter. Undeterred, Easter continued to walk towards her with the crowbar, and Coatney shot him again. Easter then fled the home, Coatney called the police, and Easter surrendered to police later that morning. Easter was indicted for burglary and aggravated assault, and a jury found him guilty on both counts. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to determine whether the Court of Appeals correctly held that the trial court charged the jury on aggravated assault in a manner not alleged in the indictment. After review, the Court held that the trial court did not charge the jury on aggravated assault in a manner not alleged in the indictment, and therefore, reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
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