Stinson v. State

The defendant waived his right to be tried on a perfect indictment, because he did not raise the issue until his motion for new trial.

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Appellant Johnny Stinson appeals from the judgment of conviction entered after a jury found him guilty of the felony murder of his girlfriend, Rosemary Reynolds.1 1. The State presented evidence which established the victim was killed by a single gunshot wound to the back of her head. Due to the gunpowder stippling surrounding the entrance wound, a forensic pathologist estimated the gun was fired from a distance of 3-6 inches from the victim’s scalp. After seeing the path the bullet took upon entering the victim’s head, the forensic pathologist determined the bullet was fired into the five-foot, nine-inch victim in an “acutely downward” direction. Appellant, who is five-feet, five inches tall, told the first police officer who came to the scene that the victim had shot herself; he told other investigating officers he and the victim had had a verbal altercation which had been followed by a fight for possession of a pistol, and the victim had been shot during the struggle. Appellant later amended his statement to say he had gained possession of the gun during the struggle and it had gone off accidentally as the victim spun away from him. The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was guilty of felony murder while committing an aggravated assault. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979. See also Stinson v. State , 273 Ga. 519 1 544 SE2d 118 2001.

2. In his sole enumeration of error, appellant alleges the felony murder indictment upon which he was tried did not satisfy the requirements of due process since it did not allege the essential elements of the predicate offense. Because of this purported deficiency, appellant contends his felony murder conviction must be reversed.

Stinson v. State

The defendant waived his right to be tried on a perfect indictment, because he did not raise the issue until his motion for new trial.

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