Mark Wayne Silvers and three others were jointly indicted for commission of the following crimes: malice murder; three alternative counts of felony murder; four counts of armed robbery; eight counts of aggravated assault; and, burglary. Silvers was tried separately, and the jury found him guilty on all counts. Determining that the verdicts on the alternative felony murder counts were vacated by operation of law and applying the principles of merger to the remaining counts, the trial court entered judgments of conviction for malice murder, three counts of armed robbery, seven counts of aggravated assault, and burglary. Silvers was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and for one of the armed robberies, and he received sentences of 20 years’ imprisonment for the remaining offenses. He filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Silvers now appeals to this Court.1 1. Silvers used his car to transport the other three named in the indictment to and from the scene of the crimes. He waited in the vehicle while two of them donned masks, entered the victims’ trailer, fired shots and demanded money. Three of the eight occupants of the trailer were robbed of money and four were shot, one of them fatally. After his arrest, Silvers wrote a letter to the sheriff in which he claimed that he was forced to participate, and that the others had threatened him and his family. However, one of the three alleged co-conspirators was a witness for the prosecution, and he testified that Silvers was a willing participant in the events. When construed most strongly in support of the verdicts, the evidence is sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find proof beyond a reasonable doubt of Silvers’ guilt as a party to all the crimes with which he was charged. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979; Simpson v. State , 265 Ga. 665 461 SE2d 210 1995.
2. Initially, Silvers was represented by appointed counsel. Subsequently, he retained an attorney to defend him. He urges that both lawyers failed to provide him with effective legal assistance. To prevail on this claim, Silvers must show that either attorney’s performance was deficient and that, but for that deficient representation, there is a reasonable probability that the proceeding would have ended differently. Strickland v. Washington , 466 U. S. 668 104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674 1984. In making this showing, he must overcome the strong presumption that the lawyers’ efforts on his behalf fall within the broad range of reasonable professional conduct. Jackson v. State , 277 Ga. 592, 593 2 592 SE2d 834 2004. After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that Silvers failed to make the requisite showing. We must accept the trial court’s factual findings and credibility determinations unless they are clearly erroneous, but we apply the appropriate legal principles to the facts independently. Wilson v. State , 277 Ga. 485 2 591 SE2d 812 2004.
