Appellant, Johnny Lee Copprue appeals his convictions for malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with the shooting death of Christopher King. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.1 The evidence adduced at trial showed that, several weeks prior to his murder, the victim sold fake cocaine to appellant’s brother, Archie Copprue. Archie decided to travel to Chicago to enlist appellant to assist in a plan to retaliate against the victim for selling the counterfeit drugs. On January 30, 2000, Archie and his mother bonded appellant out of a Cook County jail. The brothers spent the night in Gary, Indiana with appellant’s girlfriend, Tiffany Sturgis, and the next morning drove to Atlanta. On February 2, 2000, appellant and Archie spoke with the victim’s former roommate, Douglas Dietrich, as to the victim’s whereabouts in Atlanta. Dietrich showed the brothers where the victim worked. Later that evening, Archie shot the victim numerous times in the torso, and appellant shot him once in the head in an ambush in a parking lot outside of the victim’s place of employment. After the shooting, the brothers returned to Dietrich’s apartment. There, Archie told his girlfriend, Crystal Holloway, that he had “taken care of Chris.” Holloway testified that she accompanied the brothers when they returned to the scene of the shooting and watched them plant fake drugs on the victim’s body. Appellant took a bus back to Indiana. In Indiana he told his girlfriend, Sturgis, about his participation in the Atlanta murder. Although jointly indicted, appellant and Archie were tried separately pursuant to the grant of a motion to sever; Dietrich received immunity from the State for his trial testimony. Appellant denied any involvement in the crime, contending instead that he was in Indiana at the time of the shooting.
1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.
