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Cooper v. State

The defendant put a gun to the victim's head, ordered him to put money from a laundromat's change machine into a bag, then shot him numerous times, killing him.

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James Cooper was convicted of malice murder and other crimes arising out of the armed robbery and shooting death of John Atkins. The trial court denied his motion for new trial1 and he appeals, challenging the denial of his motion to suppress witness identifications, the substitution of the trial judge during jury deliberations and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. Finding no error, we affirm. 1. The jury was authorized to find that appellant arrived at the victim’s laundromat shortly before it opened and joined about a dozen other customers, including a couple who knew appellant by sight, in cleaning clothes until the victim arrived and opened a change machine to retrieve money to pay an employee. Appellant then pointed a gun at the victim’s head and ordered him to put the money in a bag. When the victim asked whether appellant would kill him in front of all the people in the laundromat, appellant said, “hell, yeah, I’ll kill you,” and shot the victim multiple times, inflicting fatal injuries. Appellant then grabbed the money and fled the scene. The couple who knew appellant told police they knew him as “Coop” and identified him at trial as the perpetrator of the crimes. Two other eyewitnesses who had selected appellant from a photographic lineup also identified him at trial.

The evidence adduced was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charged crimes. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

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