Charles Lee Boseman was convicted of malice murder in the shooting death of Augusta Police Sergeant Charles Hammock. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial1 challenging the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him, the denial of his motion to suppress his confession and the trial court’s finding that his trial counsel provided effective assistance. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. The evidence adduced at trial authorized the jury to find that appellant, after joining co-indictees McIntyre and Jones in consuming a case of beer, were riding around in McIntyre’s blue Escort, which was equipped with distinctive rims. The men were in the parking lot of the apartment complex where appellant lived when Jones spotted the victim driving into the lot. Jones commented, “there goes one right there,” and ordered McIntyre to turn the Escort around to follow the victim back into the parking lot. They were joined by the occupants of another car, who were friends and acquaintances of the men in the Escort. After McIntyre parked the car so it faced the exit of the complex, appellant and Jones walked over to the victim, who was sitting in his parked vehicle with the driver’s side window rolled down. The men exchanged words and then Jones, who had a handgun in his right hand, shot the victim in the chest and took his wallet. The bullet destroyed part of the victim’s heart and vessels coming out of the heart. Appellant and Jones walked back to the Escort and left the scene. Police officers responding to a 911 call placed by an eyewitness to the shooting found the victim dead, with his police badge visible on the front of his jacket, his keys in his right hand and his weapon still secured in its holster. The victim’s wallet, empty of money but containing some credit cards, was found the following morning near the automotive body shop owned by Jones’s father.2
After appellant told a friend that he knew it was Jones who shot the victim, the friend contacted the police. Police located appellant through his uncle, a local board of education police officer, and, at their request, appellant voluntarily went to the police station, accompanied by his uncle. Appellant was questioned for half an hour and then informed of his rights. After further questioning he was read his rights twice more; the second time was audio taped. In that taped statement appellant confessed that he was in the Escort when its occupants targeted the victim; that he accompanied Jones to the victim’s vehicle; and that he was present when Jones shot and killed the victim. See generally Walsh v. State , 269 Ga. 427 1 499 SE2d 332 1998 confession is statement acknowledging all essential elements of guilt as party to crime. Appellant’s taped statement was played for the jury. His version of the events was mostly consistent with those observed by an eyewitness to the shooting. Although that eyewitness was unable to identify the individuals involved, he testified that the distinctive rims on McIntyre’s car matched those on the getaway car.
