Bradford v. State

Appellant Thomas E. Bradford appeals his convictions for felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in relation to the shooting death of Raymond Lee.1 For reasons stated below, we affirm.

1. Appellant alleges the evidence was insufficient to convict. We disagree. The evidence construed in a light most favorable to the verdict shows appellant worked as a contracted truck driver hauling sludge from a Columbia County wastewater treatment plant for which Lee was the manager. On the day in question, appellant saw that his truck had been loaded in a way he believed to be improper. Because this had happened in the past, appellant was convinced his truck had been loaded improperly on purpose and so he confronted Lee about it. The two men engaged in a verbal argument that escalated into a physical altercation. Appellant had a pistol which he stated was in his pocket and which he admitted carrying with him all the time. Two eyewitnesses testified that they saw appellant point the gun at Lee and then saw the two men struggle for the gun; that Lee extricated himself from the struggle and began walking away; that appellant followed Lee and Lee, with his hands up, turned to face appellant, and that appellant shot Lee, who was unarmed.