Ruffin v. State

The defendant exited a dark-colored Honda Accord and shot the unarmed victim repeatedly as the victim sat in his yard.

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Antonio Ruffin was convicted of murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and, in a bifurcated trial, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon arising out of the shooting death of Michael Young. The trial court denied his motion for new trial and he appeals.1 For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. The State presented evidence that on the afternoon of March 2, 1999, the victim and his friends were in his yard, talking and using his weight lifting equipment, when appellant drove up in a dark-colored Honda Accord. Appellant exited the vehicle with a gun in each hand; walked directly over to the unarmed victim sitting on a weight bench; asked the victim, “you thought this was over with”; and, without giving the victim time to reply, shot him repeatedly. Before bleeding to death, the victim identified appellant as his shooter to the deputy sheriff who responded first to the scene. Five eyewitnesses also identified appellant as the shooter; most of them had known appellant for many years. Other witnesses placed appellant in a dark-colored Honda Accord both shortly before and immediately after the shooting and appellant’s mother told police on the day of the shooting that appellant was driving his uncle’s black Honda Accord. In the second portion of the bifurcated trial, the State introduced into evidence certified copies of a November 1991 indictment and the sentence he received after entering a negotiated guilty plea to possession of cocaine.

The overwhelming evidence adduced in this case amply authorized a rational trier of fact to find appellant 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. It follows that the trial court did not err by denying appellant’s motion for a directed verdict of acquittal. Id. See generally Hester v. State , 282 Ga. 239 2 647 SE2d 60 2007 standard of review for denial of motion for directed verdict of acquittal is same as for determining sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction.

Ruffin v. State

The defendant exited a dark-colored Honda Accord and shot the unarmed victim repeatedly as the victim sat in his yard.

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