After a jury trial, Mario Lanzo Quillian was found guilty of two counts of malice murder, four alternative counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial court treated the felony murder verdicts as surplusage, merged the aggravated assault counts into the malice murder counts, entered judgments of conviction on the remaining counts, and imposed consecutive sentences of life imprisonment for the malice murder counts and consecutive five-year terms for the two counts of firearm possession. See Malcolm v. State , 263 Ga. 369, 371-374 4, 5 434 SE2d 479 1993. A motion for new trial was denied, and Quillian appeals.1 1. Construed most strongly in support of the verdicts, the evidence shows that, after arguing with Anthony Clay, Quillian left Anthony’s apartment complex and returned with a gun. Gregory Clay, Anthony’s brother, arrived in his van and began arguing with Quillian. Anthony witnessed the argument and joined in. When Gregory reached into his van, Quillian shot him multiple times. Anthony then ran to the passenger side of the van where he retrieved and attempted to load a handgun. After the handgun came apart in his hands, he attempted to flee, but fell to the ground. As Anthony lay on the ground, Quillian shot him twice in the back. Multiple witnesses testified that the victims were unarmed when they were shot, although Quillian testified that Gregory had obtained a gun from the van. Gregory died after driving away, and Anthony died on the way to the hospital. “To the extent that Quillian testified that he acted in self-defense, the jury was free to either accept or reject his testimony. Cit.” Knight v. State , 271 Ga. 557, 559 1 521 SE2d 819 1999. The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Quillian did not act in self-defense and that he was guilty of the crimes charged. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979; Knight v. State , supra.
Quillian contends that the trial court erred when it sentenced him for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Since only the separate aggravated assault counts “merged into the malice murder counts, the trial court correctly entered a judgment of conviction and a consecutive five-year sentence for the offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Cit.” Roundtree v. State , 270 Ga. 504 511 SE2d 190 1999. See also Malcolm v. State , supra at 374 5.
