Following a jury trial, appellant Cleondre Lamarr Lacey was convicted of malice murder, felony murder two counts, armed robbery, aggravated assault two counts, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with the shooting death of Kenneth Brett Cunningham and shooting injury of Paul Mayhew. Lacey appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial,1 arguing that the trial court erred by denying two of his requests to charge; that the prosecutor improperly commented on his exercise of his right to remain silent and presented improper victim impact argument and evidence; and that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to the foregoing prosecutorial misconduct. Discerning no error, we affirm. 1. The evidence at trial authorized the jury to find that on the afternoon of March 17, 2007, Cunningham was planning to sell marijuana out of his home to an individual he did not know and asked Mayhew and another friend, Phillip Freeman, to be present. Cunningham, Mayhew, and Freeman were out on the front porch when a man later identified as Lacey arrived in a car driven by Stephanie Buskey. After exiting the vehicle, Lacey approached the house and went inside with Cunningham to retrieve a scale from Cunningham’s room. Thereafter, Mayhew and Freeman heard a commotion in the house and Cunningham yelling for help. Mayhew ran inside, and upon entering Cunningham’s room, he saw Cunningham holding Lacey’s arms up in the air. Mayhew grabbed Lacey from behind and choked him as Cunningham began punching Lacey, but Mayhew released Lacey when he heard gunshots and saw Cunningham fall on the bed. As he fled the room, Lacey shot Mayhew. Cunningham later died as a result of a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Buskey testified at trial2 that on the day in question she was in Georgia visiting her boyfriend, Antonio Dyer. She stated that on that day, Dyer’s friends, Daniel Chapman and Michael Torres, came over to Dyer’s house, Chapman mentioned that Cunningham had just “re-upped” on marijuana, and she told Dyer that she wanted some. According to Buskey, Dyer said that he was going to get some marijuana by robbing Cunningham and although “he couldn’t do it . . . he knew somebody that could.” Buskey testified further that she met Lacey later in the day, and in Lacey’s presence, Dyer said that Cunningham would be suspicious if he saw Dyer’s car because Dyer had robbed Cunningham previously and it would look better if a female drove the car. Ultimately, Buskey drove Lacey to Cunningham’s house. After entering the house, Lacey ran back to the car with some marijuana and reported that the men “rushed him,” and he “hoped a bullet didn’t hit Mayhew.” Chapman testified that a dispute existed between Dyer and Cunningham because Dyer had stolen marijuana from Cunningham, who, in turn, “shorted” Dyer in a later drug transaction. He further stated that on the day of the crimes, Dyer told Buskey that he had been wanting to rob Cunningham.
