Yancey v. State

James Yancey was convicted in 2004 of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault for his role in the shooting death of Gregory Ferrell, III, and the aggravated assault of Terrell Lofton.1 Yancey appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions. We affirm. 1. The evidence presented at trial showed that on August 22, 1998, Yancey was driving his mother’s Dodge Acclaim, looking for drugs. Yancey located Marqus “Blue” Brown, the local drug dealer, and attempted to take some drugs without paying for them. Brown testified that, during the struggle, the car was knocked into gear and crashed into a brick wall.

Meanwhile on the same day,15-year-old Gregory Ferrell, III, and 18-year-old Terrell Lofton were running errands in Lofton’s Oldsmobile 88 Delta, which Lofton had recently purchased from the drug dealer Brown. As Ferrell and Lofton were about to pull away from the parking lot outside Lofton’s Fulton County apartment, a light-colored church van pulled up alongside them. Before they were able to leave, their car came under a barrage of gunfire from the van. Lofton was shot multiple times but survived, while Ferrell died at the scene.