CourtListener 10680465

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official text of the opinion.

In the Supreme Court of Georgia

Decided: May 6, 2025

S25A0511. JOHNSON v. THE STATE.

PETERSON, Chief Justice.

Tanaiveon Johnson appeals his convictions for felony murder

and other offenses stemming from a gang-related shootout in which

Johnson’s friend Arraffi Williams was killed. 1 Johnson argues that

1 The crimes occurred on September 13, 2017. On September 19, 2018, a

Chatham County grand jury returned an indictment against six defendants,
including Johnson. The indictment charged Johnson with two counts of felony
murder (Counts 13 and 14, predicated on aggravated assault and violation of
the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act (“Gang Act”),
respectively), aggravated assault of Ebony Matthews (Count 15), aggravated
assault of Rodrick Matthews (Count 16), aggravated assault of Calvin Morris
(Count 17), four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a
felony (Counts 18-21), and nine counts of violation of the Gang Act (Counts 40-
48). Counts 14, 19, and 40-48 were nolle prossed on the State’s motion on the
first day of trial. At an October 2021 jury trial at which Johnson was the lone
defendant, a jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts before it. On November
12, 2021, the trial court sentenced Johnson to life in prison for felony murder
plus a five-year probated sentence on one of the firearm counts; the trial court
merged all other counts, and the State does not challenge the merger of any
counts. Johnson filed a timely motion for new trial that was amended by
appellate counsel in November 2023 and June 2024. Following a hearing, the
(1) the trial court erred in reopening the evidence during jury

deliberations to allow the State to introduce a jail call that Johnson

made after the State rested; (2) trial counsel was ineffective for

pressuring Johnson not to testify; and (3) the trial court erred in its

jury instruction. We conclude that (1) the trial court did not abuse

its discretion in reopening the evidence; (2) Johnson has not met his

burden to show he was prejudiced by any deficient performance by

counsel regarding Johnson’s right to testify; and (3) Johnson has not

shown that any clear and obvious error in the jury charge probably

affected the outcome of his case. We therefore affirm.

The evidence presented at trial may be summarized as follows.2

On September 13, 2017, Savannah-Chatham County police found

the dead body of Williams slumped over in the rear passenger seat

of a tan Kia Soul parked on East 31st Street. Williams had been shot

trial court denied the motion in an order entered on August 5, 2024. Johnson
filed a timely notice of appeal. The appeal was docketed to this Court’s April
2025 term and submitted for a decision on the briefs.
2 Because Johnson does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence as

to his convictions, and because we resolve both a claim of ineffective assistance
of counsel and a claim of plain trial court error in ways that implicate the
strength of the State’s case, we present the evidence as a reasonable juror
would have viewed it instead of in the light most favorable to the verdicts.
2
in the head, with the bullet going through the headrest, consistent

with the bullet coming into the car through the back window. A

surveillance camera from a home on East 40th Street in Chatham

County on that date showed a tan Kia Soul pass by three

pedestrians, before the car stopped at the curb and the three

pedestrians appeared to react and run away. The video showed at

least one occupant of the car emerging and possibly shooting, and

one of the pedestrians turning back toward the car and apparently

shooting in its direction, before the car drove off and everyone

dispersed.

Ebony Matthews testified that she, her brother Rodrick

Matthews, and Calvin Morris were the three pedestrians in the

surveillance footage.3 Ebony testified that she saw “Tay” exit the

vehicle and begin shooting at them, with Morris returning fire.

Ebony identified Johnson as “Tay” in a photo array. Ebony’s mother

testified that immediately after the shooting, Ebony told her that

“Tay” was the shooter.

3 Rodrick died in an unrelated incident prior to trial.

3
Morris was uncooperative with the State at trial, testifying

that he knew Johnson from school and had not seen Johnson on the

scene. Police testified that Morris reported that he fired his gun in

response to being fired upon and indicated that “Tanaiveon” was the

one who shot at him, although he did not identify anyone when

shown a photo array including Johnson. The jury was shown a

redacted video of an interview of Morris, in which he said two people

emerged from the car shooting, and he shot back; he said he thought

“Tanaiveon” shot at him but was not sure.

The medical examiner testified that the shot that killed

Williams was “not likely to have been a close-range” shot. In the car,

police found a 9mm gun underneath Williams’s right hand, and the

gun had a fired shell casing that was not ejected, meaning that the

gun fired a bullet before it jammed. Additional physical evidence

was consistent with crossfire between Morris and at least one

shooter standing outside of the car.

The State introduced evidence that Johnson was a member of

a gang called Only The Mob, while Morris, Rodrick, and Ebony were

4
1100 Block Gang members. Social media evidence also indicated

that the two gangs had a dispute three days before the shooting,

with Johnson’s account posting, “F**k 1100. Yeah, dat way.”

Johnson did not testify at trial. The State played for the jury

an audio recording of Johnson’s statements to police in which he

acknowledged that he was present for the shooting but said that he

was not in the car and pointed to someone else as the shooter. The

State introduced a social media post and messages from an account

that the State’s lead investigator said was maintained by Johnson;

the investigator testified that the post and messages indicated that

Johnson had admitted to being present when Williams died and

confirmed that he had been shooting. The State also introduced

recorded jail calls, which an investigator told the jury demonstrated

Johnson’s efforts in the weeks before trial to dissuade Ebony from

testifying. And while the jury was deliberating, the trial court

permitted the State to reopen its case to admit another jail call

recording in which a voice identified by an investigator as Johnson’s

is heard saying, “[W]e shot back to protect the car . . . my homeboy

5
got killed.”

1. Johnson argues that the trial court abused its discretion

in allowing the State to reopen its case. We disagree.

Less than two hours and fifteen minutes after beginning

deliberations, which started on a Friday, the jurors sent notes

asking to review the surveillance video and asking about “the

process” if they could not reach a unanimous decision. The court

played the video twice and told the jury that it was “far too early” to

discuss the jury’s inability to reach a verdict and encouraged the jury

to continue deliberating. After the jury had deliberated for about two

more hours, shortly after 5:00 p.m., the court inquired with the jury

foreman, who reported that the jury was “at an impasse.” The trial

court then recessed court for the weekend.

On Monday morning, while the jury continued its

deliberations, the State filed a motion to reopen the evidence so that

it could introduce evidence of a jail call purportedly made by

Johnson, from a different inmate’s account, to an unidentified

person, after the State had rested its case. An investigator told the

6
court that the call had been located that morning, after the

investigator had been out of the office for most of Friday and over

the weekend. The investigator said that he had searched the call

recording records for Johnson’s name when he was in the office on

Friday but found the call recording on Monday when he searched by

other numbers that Johnson had called previously. The defense

objected on the basis that the call could have been discovered earlier

and the timing prevented an opportunity to prepare a defense

around the evidence. Before the trial court ruled on the motion later

that afternoon, the jury sent a note that it was “deadlocked, making

no progress[.]”After hearing the evidence and argument from the

parties, the trial court agreed to reopen the evidence, saying that

“this is a truth-seeking enterprise” and that the State had tracked

down the call “relatively quickly” given that it was made from an

account other than Johnson’s, saying that Johnson could not

complain about the “late-breaking” nature of the evidence given that

he had created it and taken steps to conceal it, and the trial court

would not “hold the State to an instantaneous review standard[.]”

7
But the trial court said that it would wait to reopen the evidence

until the next day, so that the defense would have some time to

prepare. The court then sent the jury home for the day.

When the jury reconvened on Tuesday, the trial court told the

jury that it would be hearing additional evidence. The trial court

told the jury that “whatever weight” the jury gave the evidence was

“up to you, the jury, to decide[.]”After eliciting the investigator’s

testimony about how he discovered the recording of the call, the

State played for the jury a portion of the recording of the call.4 On

the recording, a voice identified by the investigator as Johnson’s is

heard saying, among other things:

Listen now, we on camera. We on camera going up top,
man. . . . But I tell them folks — I tell them folks we were
trying to protect the car. . . . Yeah, me and (indiscernible)
because we shot back to protect the car, cousin, my
homeboy got killed . . . [W]e on video. We on camera.

Given another opportunity to present evidence subsequent to

the admission of this new recording, the defense declined. The

4 On cross-examination of the investigator, the defense played the entire

recording.
8
parties then both gave additional closing arguments. In his closing

argument, the prosecutor played part of the new recording again,

saying, “You just heard the Defendant admit that thing that he

could never admit. He admitted he was shooting.” The trial court

then instructed the jury to deliberate further, reiterating some

general instructions on various matters. 5 About an hour later, the

jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts on all counts before it.

“It is well settled that the decision to reopen evidence is a

matter that rests within the sound discretion of the trial court.”

Walton v. State, 303 Ga. 11, 16 (4) (810 SE2d 134) (2018). This

discretion encompasses the ability to reopen evidence even after

deliberations have begun. See Gardner v. State, 263 Ga. 197, 198 (2)

(429 SE2d 657) (1993), overruled on other grounds by Paul v. State,

272 Ga. 845, 848-849 (3) (537 SE2d 58) (2011). Given concerns about

ensuring finality, maintaining an orderly and predictable trial

5 Although the jury the previous day had made a request to re-review

recordings of interviews of Johnson and Morris, the trial court at this point
instructed the jury to go back to deliberate “[f]or now,” saying if the jury had
“further questions about those issues later on,” it could “bring them back up.”
9
process, and not giving undue emphasis to particular evidence,

“after deliberations have begun, the power to reopen a case for

additional proof must be exercised with utmost caution.” Walton,

303 Ga. at 16 (4) (citations and punctuation omitted).

Here, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion

under the circumstances, even considering the caution it was

required to exercise given that deliberations already had begun.

Although the trial court’s decision to reopen the evidence upset the

usual order of a trial, that ruling was driven by Johnson’s decision

to make inculpatory statements to someone who was not his lawyer,

on a phone system that he knew was being recorded and monitored,

after the State had rested its case. The additional evidence

presented by the State was limited to a recording of, and testimony

about, that phone call. The trial court specifically found that

Johnson had taken steps to conceal the call and that the State had

unearthed the call “relatively quickly,” findings that are supported

by the record, including evidence that Johnson had used another

inmate’s account to place the call. The trial court gave the defense

10
time overnight to consider how to respond to the new evidence and

an opportunity to introduce additional evidence and give additional

closing argument. And the trial court instructed the jury that it

could give the new evidence whatever weight it chose. Under these

circumstances, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its

discretion. See Young v. State, 291 Ga. 627, 630-631 (4) (732 SE2d

269) (2012) (no abuse of discretion to allow State to reopen its case

and present the testimony of two witnesses whose statements

previously had been provided to the defense and who were not taken

into custody until after the State rested, where trial court found that

State made reasonable efforts to locate them sooner and their

testimony was not a surprise to the defendants).

2. Johnson next argues that trial counsel placed “undue

pressure” on him not to testify that amounted to ineffective

assistance of counsel. We disagree.

At the motion for new trial hearing, trial counsel testified that

he was generally opposed to Johnson testifying given Johnson’s

“significant academic and developmental challenges” and

11
“significant issues in terms of his vocabulary skills and his ability to

communicate.” Trial counsel testified that he and Johnson spoke for

two hours before the defense rested its case the first time, and

Johnson decided not to testify. Once the issue of reopening the

evidence arose, defense counsel said, he and Johnson went “round

and round” about whether Johnson should testify to explain the new

call, with counsel not in favor of it and Johnson “adamant” that he

wanted to testify to explain the recording. Counsel testified that

Johnson “never changed his mind” about wanting to testify but

“acquiesced” to counsel’s judgment. But counsel agreed that it was

Johnson’s decision to testify or not and said, “I didn’t . . . make the

ultimate decision for him[.]”

At the motion for new trial hearing, Johnson recalled

discussing his right to testify with trial counsel before the defense

rested the first time but also claimed not to know that he had a right

to testify after the evidence was reopened, denying counsel ever told

him that. Johnson said that after the jury began deliberating and

the motion to reopen evidence was filed, he told counsel that he

12
wanted to testify. Johnson said that he never changed his mind and

that no one could have changed it. Regarding specifically what he

would have testified to at trial about the new recording, Johnson

stated: “I was stating that my homeboy got killed. . . . When I say we

shot back to protect the car — put it like this: I was stating my

homeboy got killed. Shots were fired back and protect — we was

trying to — somebody was trying to protect the car.” He also said

that had he testified at trial and been asked if he was shooting on

the day that Williams was shot, he would have said no.

In denying Johnson’s motion for new trial, the trial court

credited trial counsel’s testimony that he advised Johnson of his

right to testify after the evidence was reopened. The trial court did

not make a finding concerning whether trial counsel prevented

Johnson from testifying, but instead found, even assuming that had

happened, there was no showing of prejudice based on the strong

evidence of Johnson’s guilt (including the “devastating” new

recording) and the fact that Johnson’s proffered testimony at the

motion-for-new-trial hearing was itself also incriminating and

13
would not have negated the admissions on the jail call.

“Although a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to testify

on his or her own behalf is a right that is personal to the defendant,

trial counsel has a duty to inform a defendant about this right, that

the choice to testify is the defendant’s to make, and about the

implications of choosing to exercise this right.” Thomas v. State, 314

Ga. 681, 690 (2) (878 SE2d 493) (2022) (citations and punctuation

omitted). We generally have considered claims that defense counsel

unduly pressured a defendant not to testify through the lens of a

defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of

counsel. See, e.g., Seabrooks v. State, 306 Ga. 670, 673 (2) (c) (832

SE2d 847) (2019). And Johnson frames his claim in that way.

To prove a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Johnson

must show that counsel’s performance was deficient and that

counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced Johnson’s defense. See

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d

674) (1984). “If [a defendant] fails to establish one of these two

prongs, we need not examine the other.” Payne v. State, 314 Ga. 322,

14
328 (3) (877 SE2d 202) (2022) (citation and punctuation omitted).

“To show deficient performance, the defendant must demonstrate

that counsel performed counsel’s duties in an objectively

unreasonable way, considering all of the circumstances and in the

light of prevailing professional norms.” Id. at 328-329 (3). “To

establish prejudice, [a defendant] must show that there is a

reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional error,

the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Id. at 329

(3) (citation and punctuation omitted). “In reviewing a ruling on a

claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, we defer to the trial court’s

findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous, but we apply the

law to the facts de novo.” Id. at 329 (3) (citation and punctuation

omitted).

Although Johnson argues that counsel placed “undue pressure”

on him not to testify and that this amounted to deficient

performance, effective representation may include strongly advising

a client that testifying is not in the client’s best interests. See

Seabrooks, 306 Ga. at 673 (2) (c) (rejecting ineffectiveness claim that

15
counsel “coerced” defendant not to testify, where counsel testified

that he advised defendant he would be “eviscerated” on cross-

examination and his testimony would “guarantee us a loss” ); United

States v. Teague, 953 F2d 1525, 1533 (11th Cir. 1992) (en banc) (“[I]f

counsel believes that it would be unwise for the defendant to testify,

counsel may, and indeed should, advise the client in the strongest

possible terms not to testify.”). We cannot say that counsel’s

admittedly strong advice against Johnson testifying was objectively

unreasonable, given his stated concern about Johnson’s ability to

communicate effectively. The basis for this concern was undisputed

and borne out by the conflicting nature of Johnson’s testimony, in

which he said that “we shot back,” before stating that he would have

testified that he was not shooting on the day in question.

Additionally, even assuming (as the trial court did) that

counsel prevented Johnson from testifying, Johnson has not shown

prejudice from any such deficient performance. See Isaac v. State,

319 Ga. 25, 29-31 (2) (901 SE2d 535) (2024) (rejecting argument that

prejudice from counsel’s preventing defendant from testifying is

16
presumed under constructive-denial-of-counsel exception to

Strickland framework).6 Johnson does not dispute the strength of

the State’s case against him, which included two eyewitnesses

implicating him as shooting in their direction, as well as

incriminating social media posts and phone calls by Johnson

himself. Indeed, on appeal, Johnson refers to the admission of the

recording of his jail call when the State was permitted to reopen its

case as “catastrophic” and “defense-negating.” And, indeed, the

recording was at odds with Johnson’s defense to the extent that

counsel argued that the State had not proven that Johnson was at

the scene of the shooting and, if so, that he was one of the shooters.

Although Johnson argues in his brief that not testifying

6 Johnson on appeal suggests that preventing a defendant from testifying

against his wishes is never harmless to his defense, quoting Luce v. United
States, 469 U.S. 38 (104 SCt 460, 83 LE2d 443) (1984), to the effect that an
“appellate court could not logically term ‘harmless’ an error that presumptively
kept the defendant from testifying.” Id. at 42. But Luce involved not an
ineffective assistance of counsel claim, but the question of whether a defendant
who does not testify at trial may seek review of a trial court ruling denying his
motion in limine to forbid the use of a prior conviction to impeach his
credibility. Thus, Luce does not stand for the proposition for which Johnson
cites it. And, as noted above, this Court clearly held in Isaac that a defendant
bringing an ineffective assistance of counsel claim premised on an allegation
that counsel prevented the defendant from testifying must show prejudice.
17
“deprived [him] of the ability to provide a self-defense claim or, at a

minimum, a basis for a conviction on the lesser included offense of

Voluntary Manslaughter[,]”his proffered testimony — that, had he

testified at trial, he would have said that he did not shoot — was at

odds with these theories. Johnson thus has not shown a reasonable

probability that had he testified at trial, the result of the trial would

have been different. Accordingly, he cannot prevail on his ineffective

assistance of counsel claim. See Isaac, 319 Ga. at 32 (2) (b) (rejecting

claim that counsel was ineffective because she prevented the

defendant from testifying, as, even assuming the defendant would

have testified at trial similarly to his motion-for-new-trial hearing

testimony, the evidence of guilt was strong, and the hearing

testimony was cumulative of other evidence presented at trial that

could support the defense theory); see also Gaston v. State, 307 Ga.

634, 637-638 (2) (a) (837 SE2d 808) (2020) (explaining risks of

presenting inconsistent defense theories, particularly a theory

contradicted by the defendant’s own account of events, in concluding

that appellant had failed to establish that he was prejudiced by

18
counsel’s failure to request a jury instruction on a particular defense

theory).

3. Finally, Johnson argues that the trial court erred in its

instructions to the jury as to proximate cause. Johnson has not

preserved any such argument for ordinary appellate review and has

not met his burden to show plain error.

Johnson’s attorney requested a jury instruction on proximate

cause that would have said, “Proximate cause determinations are

generally left to you the jury to decide. What constitutes proximate

cause is always to be determined on the facts of each case, based

upon mixed considerations of logic, common sense, justice and

policy.” The final charge did not include this particular language or

any other language about proximate cause specifically, although the

court did include some instructions about the causation element of

felony murder, including that causation is a question for the jury.

Johnson did not object to the charge as given. Therefore, his

claim may be reviewed on appeal only for “plain error.” OCGA § 17-

8-58 (b). See also State v. Kelly, 290 Ga. 29, 31-32 (1) (718 SE2d 232)

19
(2011) (establishing plain-error review for unpreserved jury

instruction claims). This Court applies the following test for

determining whether there is plain error in jury instructions under

OCGA § 17-8-58 (b):

First, there must be an error or defect — some sort of
deviation from a legal rule — that has not been
intentionally relinquished or abandoned, i.e.,
affirmatively waived, by the appellant. Second, the legal
error must be clear or obvious, rather than subject to
reasonable dispute. Third, the error must have affected
the appellant’s substantial rights, which in the ordinary
case means he must demonstrate that it affected the
outcome of the trial court proceedings. Fourth and finally,
if the above three prongs are satisfied, the appellate court
has the discretion to remedy the error — discretion which
ought to be exercised only if the error seriously affects the
fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial
proceedings.

Kelly, 290 Ga. at 33 (2) (a) (citation and punctuation omitted;

emphasis in original). “The appellant has the burden of showing a

clear or obvious error and further making an affirmative showing

that the error probably did affect the outcome below.” DeMuro v.

State, 317 Ga. 155, 163 (2) (892 SE2d 31) (2023) (citation and

punctuation omitted). If one prong of the plain error test is not

satisfied, we need not address the other prongs of the test. See Kelly,
20
290 Ga. at 34 (2) (b) n.5. Satisfying this high standard “is difficult,

as it should be.” Id. at 33 (2) (a) (citation and punctuation omitted).

Johnson’s enumeration complains of the trial court “refusing”

to give an instruction on proximate cause — presumably, his

requested language that “[w]hat constitutes proximate cause is

always to be determined on the facts of each case, based upon mixed

considerations of logic, common sense, justice and policy.” This

language generally would be an accurate statement of law. See

Melancon v. State, 319 Ga. 741, 751-752 (2) (906 SE2d 725) (2024).

But Johnson cites no authority that this language was required.

And even assuming the trial court made a clear or obvious error

by failing to charge that the State was required to prove the victim’s

death was a “reasonably foreseeable” result of the defendant’s

criminal conduct, see Melancon, 319 Ga. at 751 (2), a question we do

not decide,7 Johnson has not made an affirmative showing that any

7 See Holloway v. State, 320 Ga. 653, 662 (4) & n.4 (911 SE2d 543) (2025)

(pretermitting whether failure to instruct on proximate cause as to felony
murder was clear and obvious error in case involving an instruction about
proving causation as to felony murder similar to that used here).
21
such error probably affected the outcome of the trial. Johnson in his

appellate brief says virtually nothing about how omitting any

particular discussion of the concept of legal cause in the jury

instructions affected the outcome of this case. Although Johnson

argues that a proximate cause instruction was warranted given

evidence that Williams was shot from the direction of Morris and

Rodrick, that does not mean that a jury instructed specifically on the

concept of proximate cause probably would have acquitted Johnson.

If the jury concluded that Johnson had in fact shot at rival gang

members based on a dispute between the two gangs, as theorized by

the State at trial, it is unlikely that the jury would also have

concluded that it was not reasonably foreseeable that one of the rival

gang members would have returned fire and fatally shot a member

of Johnson’s entourage. See Melancon, 319 Ga. at 751 (2) (“When an

intervening act was a natural or probable consequence of the

defendant’s conduct, a finding of legal cause is not precluded.”);

State v. Jackson, 287 Ga. 646, 654 (3) (697 SE2d 757) (2010)

(Imposing liability “for the reasonably foreseeable results of criminal

22
. . . conduct if there is no sufficient, independent, and unforeseen

intervening cause . . . . would include, at least in some factual

scenarios, a deadly response against one of the perpetrators by the

intended victim of a dangerous felony like burglary or armed

robbery.”). And if the jury had concluded that Johnson was not

present, did not shoot, or did not shoot first, the theories suggested

by the defense, that conclusion would not have implicated proximate

cause issues at all. Thus, Johnson has not shown that the trial

court’s failure to instruct on the concept of proximate cause probably

affected the outcome of his trial. See Draughn v. State, 311 Ga. 378,

388 (6) (858 SE2d 8) (2021) (claim of plain error in jury charge fails

because appellant did not show that omission from charge affected

outcome of trial, because theory behind omitted instruction was both

at odds with defendant’s argument at trial and contrary to

substantial evidence presented); Armstrong v. State, 310 Ga. 598,

606 (4) (852 SE2d 824) (2020) (rejecting claim of plain error in jury

charge where appellant “makes only conclusory arguments about

23
harm”).8

Judgment affirmed. Warren, PJ, and Bethel, Ellington,
McMillian, LaGrua, Colvin, and Pinson, JJ, concur.

8 We have assumed one instance of deficient performance on the part of

trial counsel in allegedly preventing Johnson from testifying and one trial
court instructional error, but we concluded that Johnson has not met his
burden to show harm as to either. Johnson does not argue that this deficiency
and error cumulatively resulted in prejudice, and we discern no apparent
cumulative prejudice on this record. See State v. Lane, 308 Ga. 10, 18 (1) (838
SE2d 808) (2020) (“[E]ven in the evidentiary context, a defendant who wishes
to take advantage of the [cumulative-error rule] should explain to the
reviewing court just how he was prejudiced by the cumulative effect of multiple
errors.”).
24

321 Ga. 511
FINAL COPY

S25A0511. JOHNSON v. THE STATE.

PETERSON, Chief Justice.

Tanaiveon Johnson appeals his convictions for felony murder

and other offenses stemming from a gang-related shootout in which

Johnson’s friend Arraffi Williams was killed.1 Johnson argues that

(1) the trial court erred in reopening the evidence during jury

1 The crimes occurred on September 13, 2017. On September 19, 2018, a

Chatham County grand jury returned an indictment against six defendants,
including Johnson. The indictment charged Johnson with two counts of felony
murder (Counts 13 and 14, predicated on aggravated assault and violation of
the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act (“Gang Act”),
respectively), aggravated assault of Ebony Matthews (Count 15), aggravated
assault of Rodrick Matthews (Count 16), aggravated assault of Calvin Morris
(Count 17), four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a
felony (Counts 18-21), and nine counts of violation of the Gang Act (Counts 40-
48). Counts 14, 19, and 40-48 were nolle prossed on the State’s motion on the
first day of trial. At an October 2021 jury trial at which Johnson was the lone
defendant, a jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts before it. On November
12, 2021, the trial court sentenced Johnson to life in prison for felony murder
plus a five-year probated sentence on one of the firearm counts; the trial court
merged all other counts, and the State does not challenge the merger of any
counts. Johnson filed a timely motion for new trial that was amended by
appellate counsel in November 2023 and June 2024. Following a hearing, the
trial court denied the motion in an order entered on August 5, 2024. Johnson
filed a timely notice of appeal. The appeal was docketed to this Court’s April
2025 term and submitted for a decision on the briefs.
deliberations to allow the State to introduce a jail call that Johnson

made after the State rested; (2) trial counsel was ineffective for

pressuring Johnson not to testify; and (3) the trial court erred in its

jury instruction. We conclude that (1) the trial court did not abuse

its discretion in reopening the evidence; (2) Johnson has not met his

burden to show he was prejudiced by any deficient performance by

counsel regarding Johnson’s right to testify; and (3) Johnson has not

shown that any clear and obvious error in the jury charge probably

affected the outcome of his case. We therefore affirm.

The evidence presented at trial may be summarized as follows.2

On September 13, 2017, Savannah-Chatham County police found

the dead body of Williams slumped over in the rear passenger seat

of a tan Kia Soul parked on East 31st Street. Williams had been shot

in the head, with the bullet going through the headrest, consistent

with the bullet coming into the car through the back window. A

2 Because Johnson does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence as

to his convictions, and because we resolve both a claim of ineffective assistance
of counsel and a claim of plain trial court error in ways that implicate the
strength of the State’s case, we present the evidence as a reasonable juror
would have viewed it instead of in the light most favorable to the verdicts.
2
surveillance camera from a home on East 40th Street in Chatham

County on that date showed a tan Kia Soul pass by three

pedestrians, before the car stopped at the curb and the three

pedestrians appeared to react and run away. The video showed at

least one occupant of the car emerging and possibly shooting, and

one of the pedestrians turning back toward the car and apparently

shooting in its direction, before the car drove off and everyone

dispersed.

Ebony Matthews testified that she, her brother Rodrick

Matthews, and Calvin Morris were the three pedestrians in the

surveillance footage.3 Ebony testified that she saw “Tay” exit the

vehicle and begin shooting at them, with Morris returning fire.

Ebony identified Johnson as “Tay” in a photo array. Ebony’s mother

testified that immediately after the shooting, Ebony told her that

“Tay” was the shooter.

Morris was uncooperative with the State at trial, testifying

that he knew Johnson from school and had not seen Johnson on the

3 Rodrick died in an unrelated incident prior to trial.

3
scene. Police testified that Morris reported that he fired his gun in

response to being fired upon and indicated that “Tanaiveon” was the

one who shot at him, although he did not identify anyone when

shown a photo array including Johnson. The jury was shown a

redacted video of an interview of Morris, in which he said two people

emerged from the car shooting, and he shot back; he said he thought

“Tanaiveon” shot at him but was not sure.

The medical examiner testified that the shot that killed

Williams was “not likely to have been a close-range” shot. In the car,

police found a 9mm gun underneath Williams’s right hand, and the

gun had a fired shell casing that was not ejected, meaning that the

gun fired a bullet before it jammed. Additional physical evidence

was consistent with crossfire between Morris and at least one

shooter standing outside of the car.

The State introduced evidence that Johnson was a member of

a gang called Only The Mob, while Morris, Rodrick, and Ebony were

1100 Block Gang members. Social media evidence also indicated

that the two gangs had a dispute three days before the shooting,

4
with Johnson’s account posting, “F**k #1100 yeah dat way.”