State v. Brooker

Re:

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State,       
Respondent,

v.

Eric Brooker,       
Appellant.

Appeal From Allendale County

Paul M. Burch, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-349

Submitted March 26, 2003 – Filed May
20, 2003

AFFIRMED

Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of Columbia,
for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney
General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson,
Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport, all of Columbia; and
Solicitor Randolph  Murdaugh, III, of Hampton; for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:   Appellant, Eric Brooker, was
indicted for murder, attempted armed robbery, and assault and battery with intent
to kill.  He was acquitted of murder and attempted armed robbery, but was convicted
of assault and battery with intent to kill.  The trial judge sentenced Brooker
to seventeen years imprisonment.  On appeal, Brooker contends the trial judge
erred by refusing to direct a verdict reducing assault and battery with intent
to kill to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature where the State’s
evidence showed only that appellant placed a gun to the victim’s head and attempted
to pull her from a car.  We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b)(2), SCACR and the
following authorities:  State v. Kennerly, 231 S.C. 442, 455, 503 S.E.2d
214, 221 (Ct. App. 1998) (in reviewing a denial of directed verdict, issues
not raised to the trial court in support of the directed verdict motion are
not preserved for appellate review); State v. King, 334 S.C. 504, 510,
514 S.E.2d 578, 581 (1999) (to preserve an issue for appellate review, the objection
must be timely made, which usually requires it be made at the earliest possible
opportunity; an issue may not be raised for the first time in a motion for a
new trial); State v. Huggins, 336 S.C. 200, 205, 519 S.E.2d 574, 576
(1999) (it is well settled that issues may not be raised for the first time
on appeal).

AFFIRMED.

GOOLSBY, ANDERSON and HUFF, JJ. concur.