State v. Tonya Newberry

── State v. Tonya Newberry ── Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia Date: April 17, 2026 Category: General SECOND DIVISION DOYLE, P. J., DAVIS, J., and SENIOR JUDGE FULLER NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. https://www.gaappeals.us/rules April 17, 2026 In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A26A0708. THE STATE v. NEWBERRY. DOYLE, Presiding Judge. Following a jury trial in which Tonya Newberry was found guilty of furnishing prohibited items to inmates (three counts) and crossing a guard line with drugs, the State appeals from the trial court’s order granting a new trial on the general grounds. Specifically, the State contends that (1) the trial court acted prematurely because no judgment had been entered on the guilty verdict; (2) the trial court erroneously applied the thirteenth juror standard; and (3) the trial court erred by denying its motion to recuse. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. At trial, the State presented evidence showing that Newberry went to visit her son, who was incarcerated at Washington State Prison. When prison visitors enter the driveway, they encounter signs, as Newberry did, notifying them that they are entering the “guard line” of the prison, where contraband is prohibited. Once on prison grounds, Newberry engaged in a visit with her son in the visitation room. According to the warden, who was monitoring live video feeds of the visitation room, Newberry went to the bathroom near the end of the visitation time, and after she emerged, she “handed her son a package” wrapped in white tape. The warden radioed the unit manager to notify him of what he observed. The warden testified that he watched through the observation window (not the video) as the manager approached Newberry’s son, who unsuccessfully attempted to conceal the package in his waistband, accidentally allowing it to fall to the floor. Newberry and her son were separated, and Newberry was detained. The unit manager recovered the package, which was later determined to contain methamphetamine, marijuana, and tobacco. A later search of Newberry’s car allegedly revealed loose tobacco, marijuana, and packing material consistent with the wrapping on the contraband package. Based on these events, Newberry was charged in September 2021, with three counts of furnishing prohibited items to inmates, see OCGA § 42-5-18(b) (methamphetamine and marijuana) and (b.1) (tobacco), and one count of crossing the 2 guard line with drugs, see OCGA § 42-5-15. In February 2022, Newberry filed a motion in limine seeking to dismiss the case on the ground that the video recording of the live feed viewed by the warden was unavailable. At a hearing on the motion, the warden explained that, due to an ongoing six-month upgrade project, the video feed could be replayed after the fact, but for that week only,1 it could not be downloaded “onto an actual disc for evidence purposes.” Therefore, it was not available for Newberry to review or rebut. In a March 2022 order, the trial court granted Newberry’s motion and dismissed the case based on a finding of bad faith on the part of the State for its failure to preserve the video evidence and make it available to Newberry. The State appealed that order, and in 2023, this Court reversed the dismissal on the ground that the missing video evidence was inculpatory, so its unavailability was not constitutionally material and grounds for dismissal. See State v. Newberry, 366 Ga. App. 567, 569 (883 SE2d 581) (2023) (“[T]he only evidence regarding the content of the missing video footage is that it showed Newberry’s commission of the charged crimes and was 1 The warden testified tha