Jones v. State

• Decision Date: 02 May 1994
• Docket Number: No. S94A0078,S94A0078
• Citation: Jones v. State, 442 S.E.2d 245, 264 Ga. 144 (Ga. 1994)
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court
• Parties: Ahmad JONES v. The STATE.

Page 245

442 S.E.2d 245

264 Ga. 144

Ahmad JONES v.The STATE.

No. S94A0078.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

May 2, 1994.

C. Jackson Burch, Savannah, for Jones.

Spencer Lawton, Jr., Dist. Atty., Savannah, Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Susan V Boleyn, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., Matthew P. Stone, Staff Atty. Dept. of Law, Atlanta, for the State.

Angela M. Hinton, Asst. Dist. Atty., Savannah.

THOMPSON, Justice.

Ahmad Jones was convicted of murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of Nelson Sevier, Jr., and of the aggravated assault of Eric Hardwick.¹We affirm, except with respect to the conviction and sentence for the aggravated assault of Sevier, which we vacate.

1.Jones asserts the general grounds.Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Sevier, a grocery salesman was placing trash in a dumpster outside a convenience store on his delivery route when he was approached by Jones and co-defendant Cody.²According to Cody's custodial statement, he and Jones had gotten together earlier in the day at which time Jones displayed a .38 caliber pistol and said that he wanted some money and was going to rob somebody.Later the two were walking in the vicinity of the convenience store when they observed Sevier at the dumpster.Jones told Cody to wait while he(Jones) approached Sevier with the pistol in hand, telling him to "give up" his money.When Sevier refused, Jones fired one shot into his chest.The bullet penetrated Sevier's lung, exited his body and hit Hardwick, a bystander, in the face.Sevier died of a massive hemorrhage resulting from the gunshot wound.Cody was apprehended at the scene.He implicated Jones who later surrendered to police.

Jones testified in his own defense.He admitted shooting the victim, running from the scene and hiding the pistol.He claimed, however, that he did so for his own protection after the victim made a racially derogatory remark and reached behind his back as if to procure a weapon.

On this evidence, the jury was authorized to find Jones guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted.Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560(1979).

2.A defendant may not be convicted of felony murder and also be convicted of the underlying felony which was alleged by the indictment to support the felony murder conviction.The conviction and sentence for the aggravated assault of Nelson Sevier, Jr. is therefore vacated.Zackery v. State, 257 Ga. 442(2), 360 S.E.2d 269(1987).

3.The remaining enumerations of error are without merit.

Judgment affirmed in part and vacated in...