Ward v. State

Following a jury trial, Denzel Laquan Ward appeals his conviction for malice murder, felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony,1 contending that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance and that the trial court gave an erroneous jury instruction regarding the credibility of a testifying defendant. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm Ward’s conviction, except for the separate judgment of conviction and sentence for felony murder which must be vacated.

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that, after being kicked out of a nightclub for fighting, Ward, Kwame Coleman, and Chavious Oliver got into Ward’s mother’s car and began to drive away. As they did so, Ward, who was driving, fired a gun out of the car, and a bullet hit Nicholas Martel Carpenter, thereby killing him. Sergeant Robert Watson was parked nearby when he heard the gunshots. Sergeant Watson attempted to pull Ward over, but Ward fled for a brief period before stopping the car in an apartment complex where Ward and his passengers fled on foot. Two .45 caliber Winchester shell casings were found in the car, and two matching .45 caliber casings were found at the scene of the shooting. The bullets taken from the victim’s body indicated that they had been fired from a .45 caliber pistol. Ward’s co-defendants gave testimony that Ward was the shooter. Ward testified at trial, where he blamed Coleman for firing the gun.