Charles Worthy was fatally shot at his home in Bibb County on January 3, 2005.1 Appellant Lastarza Rodriguez Thomas had been at Worthy’s home for three days on a drug binge leading up to the early morning hours of January 3, 2005. That morning, the two had a heated argument, during which Worthy repeatedly told appellant to leave. Worthy went outside his duplex unit and appellant followed, drawing a gun from his waistband. James Lester, who was inside the duplex yelled for Worthy to come back inside. Worthy went back into his home and, while Worthy was moving to close the door, appellant fatally shot Worthy and shot and wounded Lester.2 Appellant then left the scene in his blue minivan. Later that afternoon, the police issued a warrant and arrested appellant at his Baldwin County home where the murder weapon was recovered. At trial, although appellant testified he fired his gun because Worthy was armed, no gun was found on or near Worthy’s body and four eyewitnesses testified Worthy was unarmed. Appellant admitted to pulling the trigger and to shooting at the victim, however, he testified that the shooting was accidental because the door to the duplex hit his arm. Testimony elicited by the State from the investigating officer and appellant, as well as comments made at closing argument, revealed that, between the time appellant left the scene on the early morning of the shooting and later that afternoon when a warrant was served and he was arrested, appellant did not contact law enforcement or return to the scene to tell the authorities that the shooting was accidental. The State also produced a firearms expert who testified that it would take six pounds of force to pull the gun’s trigger and that there was no defect in the gun that would have caused it to discharge without the trigger being pulled. The State’s firearms expert, as well as the expert appellant presented at the motion for new trial hearing, further testified that there were no means to test the accidental circumstances described by appellant of being hit in the arm while holding the gun. At the trial’s conclusion, the jury returned a guilty verdict.
1. The evidence adduced at trial and summarized above was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the malice murder of Worthy, the aggravated assault of Lester, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.
