On June 16, 2009, a Carroll County grand jury indicted Appellant Lance Thomas, Jr., along with Robert Robinson, James Prothro, and Tony Smith, for the following crimes in connection with a deadly home invasion that occurred on December 24, 2008: 1 malice murder of David Nixon, 2 felony murder of David Nixon based on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 3 malice murder of Michael Cruver, 4 felony murder of Cruver based on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 5 aggravated assault of Reginald Nixon “Nixon” with a deadly weapon, 6 burglary, 7 aggravated assault of Cruver with intent to rob, and 8 aggravated assault of Nixon with intent to rob. Robinson pled guilty to the two counts of felony murder; Prothro pled guilty to burglary and aggravated assault; and Smith pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery. They all testified for the State at Appellant’s trial, where Appellant was found not guilty of the malice murder counts but guilty of all the other charges. On appeal, he contends that the evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain his burglary conviction, that the trial court erred in denying his motions to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a vehicle search and his custodial statement to the police, and that the trial court should have merged several convictions for sentencing.1 We affirm.
1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence showed the following. The week before Christmas 2008, Appellant, Robinson, Smith, and Jarrell Washington drove a white rental car from Ohio to South Carolina to visit Robinson’s father. After the visit, the men drove to Atlanta to visit Cherelle Williams, who is Smith’s cousin. They met Prothro at Williams’s apartment, and the men discussed committing a robbery. Prothro suggested that they rob Reginald Nixon’s house. In the early morning hours of December 24, the men, except for Washington, drove to Nixon’s house. Appellant and Robinson, who were wearing black shirts and were armed with a .357-caliber revolver and 9mm pistol, respectively, walked up to the house, and Robinson knocked on the door.
