A jury convicted Mario Hodges of misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the assault.1 Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Hodges appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by excluding evidence regarding Hodges’ state of mind when he shot the victim. Because the exclusion of this evidence was harmful error, we reverse. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Early v. State , 170 Ga. App. 158, 164 6 316 SE2d 527 1984. So viewed, the evidence showed that Hodges called 911, reported his location, and said he had shot a man named Rudy Turner while defending himself. Police officers were dispatched to the scene and the first officer on the scene found Hodges standing outside of his house holding a shotgun. Hodges put the gun down as directed and was placed in the back of a patrol car. Two officers went into the house and found Turner upstairs, deceased from a shotgun blast. A knife was located about six feet from Turner’s body.
The police took Hodges to be interviewed at the Crimes Against Persons Unit, and after Hodges waived his Miranda rights, two detectives took his statement. Hodges said the incident began when Turner threatened Hodges and Hodges’ daughter, and explained that he had been friends with Turner for about five years. Turner was in and out of jail and had lived with Hodges previously, but Hodges had kicked him out. Seven months before, Turner had come to Hodges’ previous apartment demanding money and the two men had gotten into a fistfight, but apparently had “patched up” their relationship after that. Turner had been staying with mutual friends when he called and asked Hodges to come pick him up because he and the friends had “gotten into a disagreement.” Hodges did so and Turner slept at Hodges’s home that night. The next day, Turner told Hodges that he wanted to collect money from various people who were in his debt, including Hodges, and became angrier as the day went on. Turner demanded that Hodges pawn a television to repay the debt Hodges owed him, then told Hodges that he was “going to get” the people who owed him money and if they failed to pay, he would “go after their relatives or the people they love.”
