Following a jury trial, Faud Abdulaziz Mohamud was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. On appeal, Mohamud contends, among other things, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the trial court made evidentiary errors.1 For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part and vacate in part.
1. In the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that, on the afternoon of July 21, 2010, Mohamud, Airis Evans Ingram, Brandi Arden, and Mohamud’s brother, Liban, traveled to a gas station located in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Arden drove her car, and she chose a parking spot adjacent to a gas pump. Mohamud had told Arden that he wanted to meet someone named “Curt” at the convenience store. A short time later, a blue Crown Victoria pulled into the parking lot, and Mohamud and Liban had a brief verbal exchange in Somali. Then, Mohamud and Evans-Ingram exited Arden’s vehicle and approached the blue Crown Victoria from behind. DeAndre Perkins, who had shot and robbed Mohamud on a prior occasion, was in the passenger seat. Immediately, the driver began reversing the Crown Victoria, and Mohamud shot into the car, killing Perkins. Mohamud and Evans Ingram jumped back into Arden’s vehicle, and Mohamud frantically stated, “He Perkins had a gun . . . I had to shoot.” As they sped away, again, according to Arden, Mohamud stated, “He Mohamud was the one that shot him,” and, “He Mohamud swore on his mom when he saw him he was going to get him.” Additionally, Arden was told not to speak to police and that if the police asked about her involvement, to tell them “I wasn’t there.”
