A jury found Maruf Sharif guilty of aggravated assault. Sharif appeals, alleging the trial court erred in 1 allowing hearsay statements of a non-testifying witness into evidence, 2 allowing the state to put his character in issue, and 3 allowing the state to ask leading questions during direct examination. Sharif also claims the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, and he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel. We find no error and affirm Sharif’s conviction. Viewed in a light most favorable to support the jury’s verdict, the evidence shows that Sharif shot the victim three times. According to the record, DeKalb County police responded to a “person shot” call. The victim, known to police as “Shorty,” told police that Sharif had shot him. At the hospital, the victim positively identified Sharif’s photograph as that of the person who shot him. The victim also positively identified Sharif in the courtroom as the person who shot him.
The victim testified that he first met Sharif a few days prior to the shooting when he and a friend encountered Sharif outside a store. Sharif claimed the victim’s friend owed him money for some drugs. The victim’s friend corroborated the victim’s testimony regarding this meeting. A day or two later, the victim again saw Sharif in the same area. Sharif asked the victim where his friend was and told him, “don’t let me catch one of you all pussy n — —s slipping around here.” In the early morning hours on the day of the incident, the victim and a female friend walked by Sharif’s apartment building and heard Sharif say, “There go one of the f — n — —s right there.” The victim saw Sharif and tried to leave. As he was walking away, the victim’s female friend said, “He got a gun. He got a gun.” The victim heard the sound of a gun being cocked and heard a woman scream, “Sharif, don’t do it.” Sharif shot the victim three times. The victim heard the same female voice say, “Sharif, you’re going to kill him.” The victim managed to escape, screamed that he had been shot and asked a friend to call the police.
