Wright v. State

Following a jury trial, Pablo Wright was found guilty of murder, felony murder, and several other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Willie Howell.1 On appeal, Wright contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court erred in allowing the prosecutor to make an improper closing argument. We affirm. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence reveals that, on August 13, 2003, Howell was visiting friends on Browns Mill Road. When Wright saw Howell walking in his direction, he went into his home to retrieve a firearm and stood in his yard. The two men exchanged words, and when Howell put his hands behind his back, Wright pulled out his firearm and fired it at Howell. A number of witnesses heard multiple gun shots and witnessed part of the shooting or its aftermath. Many of these witnesses knew both Wright and Howell and identified Wright as the shooter. Some of these witnesses saw Howell walking down the street with Wright following him, and saw Wright shoot Howell multiple times before Howell fell to the ground. One witness also stated that, after Howell fell to the ground, Wright shot him several more times. None of these witnesses saw Howell with any weapons or acting aggressively towards Wright.

The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Wright guilty of all of the crimes for which he was convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.