Bryan Tyrone Williams was convicted of malice murder and various other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Officer Michael Stephenson of the Richmond County Board of Education Public Safety Department, while in the performance of his official duties.1 The State sought the death penalty, but the jury fixed the punishment at life without the possibility of parole. Williams appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial asserting that the trial court erred in denying his motion for change of venue and in finding that he received constitutionally effective assistance of trial counsel. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. Officer Stephenson was dispatched to the Jamestown Elementary School in Augusta, Georgia, in response to a call that a burglar alarm had been activated on the premises. The school custodian, Willie Edward Brown, also responded to the alarm call and he arrived at the school accompanied by his teenage son, Marcus, just as Officer Stephenson was pulling up. Officer Stephenson encountered Williams on the school property, took a book bag from him, patted him down, and placed him in the back seat of the patrol car. Willie Brown parked his car and both he and Marcus got out to speak with the officer who stated that Williams was probably the one who had broken into the school entry had been gained by breaking a glass panel adjacent to the cafeteria door. Both Willie and Marcus Brown observed Williams in the patrol car. At that point, Williams fired a gun through a window of the patrol car, killing Officer Stephenson. Willie and Marcus Brown observed Williams flee from the patrol car and run into the nearby woods armed with a gun. Both Browns subsequently identified Williams from a series of photographs shown to them. Williams turned himself in to the police later that night.
1. Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find Williams guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.
