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Collins v. State

Although the prosecutor's question to the defendant on cross-examination as to why he did not turn himself in to police earlier was improper, reversal was not warranted because the evidence against the defendant was overwhelming.

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On December 1, 2006, while driving in his white Cadillac along a street in DeKalb County, appellant Leroy Collins shot into a green Chevrolet Monte Carlo and fatally injured Mitchell Smalls IV hereinafter, the “victim” who was the passenger and three-year-old son of the Monte Carlo’s driver Mitchell Smalls III hereinafter, “Smalls”.1 Appellant and Smalls had been in business together and had a dispute several months prior to the shooting. Appellant turned himself into police on December 3, 2006, upon learning Smalls’s child had been shot.2 Eyewitnesses testified that they saw an arm from the white car reach out with a gun and shoot at the green car. Appellant testified at trial and conceded he shot at least six times at the green Monte Carlo in which the victim was a passenger, but contended he shot in self-defense because he alleged Smalls fired a shot at him first. The incident was captured on video by the dashboard camera of a passing motorist and the video was played for the jury at trial. 1. The evidence as described above was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

2. Appellant contends that reversible error occurred when he testified in his own defense at trial. Specifically, appellant objects to the following testimony elicited on cross-examination by the prosecutor:

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