Although indicted for murder, Roger Nelloms was found guilty of the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter.1 Nelloms appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. He also argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial, denying his request to present evidence of the victim’s violent acts, and instructing the jury on voluntary manslaughter. For reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. Nelloms first argues that the evidence supporting his manslaughter conviction was not sufficient and that, given the insufficiency, the trial court should have granted his motion for directed verdict. When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence and the denial of a directed verdict, we apply the same standard: We view the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. Cit. We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine if the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty . . . beyond a reasonable doubt.2 Viewed in this manner, the evidence shows that on August 23, 1996, Anthony Evans was fatally shot in the back. Shanta Kelly, a witness to the shooting, saw Evans and another man exit a car that stopped outside of her apartment. According to Kelly, the two men stood by a fence near a tree, talking. She testified that Evans “had turned away like he was fixing to walk off,” when the other man produced a gun and shot him. Kelly testified that she neither saw Evans with a gun nor observed the two men engage in any physical struggle before, during, or after the shooting. Following the shooting, Evans ran, screaming for help. The shooter also fled. At that point, the car in which the two men had arrived was still parked outside Kelly’s apartment.
Another witness, Shanteria Ward, testified that she saw Evans pin another man against a wall for a few seconds after the two men began pushing and shoving each other. As Evans began running away, the other man shot Evans in the back. Ward did not see Evans hit or kick the other man, and she did not observe Evans with any weapon.
