Roscoe v. State

Under the circumstances, a variance between the allegation in the defendant's indictment that he possessed a firearm after being convicted of theft by taking in 1997 and the evidence at trial that he had a 2001 conviction for felony cocaine possession was not fatal.

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A jury found Maurice Roscoe guilty of malice murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the fatal shooting of Pierce McCladdie, Jr.1 Roscoe appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that the trial court erred in its charge to the jury and allowing the State to prove the offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in a manner not charged in the indictment. We affirm. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that on the night of the crimes Roscoe accused the victim’s brother, Lance Lampkin, of having an affair with Roscoe’s girlfriend. The two men exchanged words and the victim, his girlfriend, and Lampkin drove away. Roscoe followed and, after pulling up next to Lampkin’s car at a traffic light, fired several shots at the car. The victim died from a single gunshot to the head from a nine-millimeter gun. Roscoe was discovered by police at a local hotel, where they recovered a nine-millimeter gun from under the mattress in the room where he was staying. A nine-millimeter cartridge casing was discovered in the car Roscoe was driving on the day of the crimes. We find this evidence sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Roscoe guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.307 99 SC 2781, 61 LEd2d 560 1979.

2. Citing Edge v. State , 261 Ga. 865 414 SE2d 463 1992, Roscoe contends the trial court erred by failing to instruct jurors that they must first determine whether mitigating evidence of passion or provocation would cause the offense of murder to be reduced to voluntary manslaughter. Roscoe, however, was convicted of malice murder and “there can be no harmful Edge violation when the jury convicts on a malice murder charge.” Taylor v. State , 271 Ga. 497 2 521 SE2d 814 1999.

Roscoe v. State

Under the circumstances, a variance between the allegation in the defendant's indictment that he possessed a firearm after being convicted of theft by taking in 1997 and the evidence at trial that he had a 2001 conviction for felony cocaine possession was not fatal.

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