John Sampson was tried jointly with his brother, Greg Styles, on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, three counts of making a false statement to law enforcement officers, and four counts of giving a false name to law enforcement officers arising out of the shooting death of Lafe Johnson during an attempted robbery, and found guilty of all charges except malice murder. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial.1 1. Evidence adduced at trial authorized a jury to find that Lafe Johnson and Charles “Pops” Holloway and two other men were playing cards in Holloway’s garage when Sampson and Styles entered the garage wearing masks and army fatigues, armed with a shotgun and automatic pistol. Sampson held the four men at gunpoint while Styles attempted to rob the home. Holloway followed Styles into the home, scuffled with him, and was shot once in the leg. Meanwhile, Johnson charged Sampson in the garage and during their scuffle, Sampson fatally shot Johnson in the abdomen and shot himself in the foot. Afterwards, Sampson and Styles went to a neighbor’s apartment for assistance. The neighbor noted Sampson’s gunshot wound and Sampson explained that “somebody was worse off than he was.” The next day, Styles told the neighbor to provide them an alibi by telling police that Sampson was at her house the previous night and received the foot injury while trying to escape from a robber who attacked him.
Sampson and Styles were arrested the day after the crimes when Sampson sought treatment for his injury at an emergency clinic. The police spoke with Sampson believing that he was the victim of a robbery. When questioned, Sampson gave police a false name and stated that he was shot when someone tried to rob him while walking through the woods. Sampson voluntarily accompanied the police for further questioning about his attack. At the police station, Sampson was read his Miranda rights and the police took a second statement wherein Sampson again misidentified himself and reiterated that he was the victim of an attempted robbery. Following his arrest, while incarcerated in the DeKalb County jail, Styles told two inmates that he was involved in a robbery, that he shot “Pops,” and that “one of the guys” shot somebody and also shot himself.
