A Douglas County jury found co-defendants Demani Mizell and Thomas Thrower guilty of two counts of armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, three counts of kidnaping, theft by receiving stolen property motor vehicle, and obstruction of an officer, which charges arose in relation to their participation in the armed robbery of the Exxon Kwik Shop on Burnt Hickory Road in Douglasville. Mizell and Thrower appeal separately, raising various claims of error relating to the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial court’s charge to the jury, the introduction of similar transaction evidence, severance, and merger. Their appeals have been consolidated, and, upon review of the errors as enumerated, we affirm their convictions. 1. Both appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions, claiming that the lack of direct evidence of their participation in the charged crimes requires reversal. We disagree.
Mizell and Thrower were indicted along with three other men, Charles Headspeth,1 Jerry Jackson, and Robert McKay. Jackson and McKay pled guilty to the charged offenses and testified at appellants’ joint trial. From their testimony and other evidence introduced, the jury was authorized to find that Mizell, Thrower, and the other three men formulated a plan to steal a vehicle from the parking lot of Shannon Mall and drive it to the Bankhead Courts housing project in order to strip it. After appellant Thrower drove them to the mall in Jerry Jackson’s Blazer, a Chevrolet Suburban was selected to be taken; both Mizell and Thrower knew the Suburban was to be stolen; they waited in the Blazer as entry into the Suburban was accomplished, and its ignition was accessed through the steering column. Thereafter, two of the men drove the Suburban to Bankhead Courts, while Thrower, Mizell, and a third member of the conspiracy followed in the Blazer. At Bankhead Courts, the plan to strip the Suburban was abandoned. Instead, Thrower and Mizell in the Blazer again followed the others in the Suburban. Both vehicles stopped in Douglas County at the Brookwood trailer park across the street from the Exxon Kwik Shop convenience store. There, the five men formed a plan to rob the Exxon.
