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Cooper v. State

Trial counsel was not deficient in failing to present a defense based on circumstantial evidence or in failing to request a jury charge regarding the State's burden of proof in a purely circumstantial case, as the evidence at trial was not wholly circumstantial.

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Appellant Reginald Cooper was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a knife during the commission of a crime in connection with the death of Kelvin Lindsey.1 He appeals his convictions and the trial court’s denial of his motion for new trial in which he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, alleged he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and asserted the State made an improper closing argument. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the evidence shows that appellant agreed to meet the victim early on the morning of May 13, 2005. After picking up a friend, Angela Peterman, appellant drove his Ford Explorer to meet the victim. With Peterman in the car, appellant agreed to drive the victim to the victim’s brother’s house. During the ride, appellant became angry when the victim repeatedly asked him for money. Upon their arrival at the brother’s apartment complex, the victim refused to get out of appellant’s car. Appellant then exited the vehicle which prompted the victim to also get out and the two men began arguing. According to Peterman, this argument turned into a physical altercation after the victim hit appellant and she heard the two men begin fighting behind the car.

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