397 S.E.2d 115
S90A1321.Supreme Court of Georgia.
DECIDED OCTOBER 18, 1990.
WELTNER, Justice.
Earl Head shot and killed Charlie L. Banks with a handgun. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.[1]
1. Banks, a security guard at a lounge, told Head and a group of others gathered outside the lounge that they must enter the place of business or leave the premises. Head then told Banks that he would shoot Banks if the latter “messed with him like that.” In a later altercation with another patron, inside the lounge, Head said: “You don’t know who you’re messing with. I’ll kill you.” When bystanders tried to prevent Head from chasing the other patron, Head’s handgun discharged, and the projectile killed Banks. Head testified that his intent
Page 470
was to frighten the other patron; that someone seized him, causing the weapon to fall to the floor and discharge upon impact. There was no ricochet, and the projectile entered the victim’s body at a trajectory described as “very, very, very slightly upward.” The results of chemical tests performed on Head’s hands disclosed no powder residue.
2. (a) Head’s sole enumeration of error relates to the sufficiency of the evidence.
(b) From the evidence in this case, a rational trier of fact could have found Head guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the offense of murder. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307
(99 S.C. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560) (1979).
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.
DECIDED OCTOBER 18, 1990.
Murder. Jasper Superior Court. Before Judge Prior.
Roy R. Kelly III, for appellant.
Joseph H. Briley, District Attorney, James Cline, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Michael J. Bowers, Attorney General, Robert D. McCullers, for appellee.