Hines v. State

Evidence that a convicted felon mistook his friend for a turkey and shot him dead supported his felony murder conviction based on the underlying crime of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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While hunting, Robert Lee Hines mistook his friend Steven Wood for a turkey and shot him dead. A jury convicted Hines of felony murder based on the underlying crime of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, but acquitted him of felony murder based on the underlying felony of misuse of a firearm while hunting. On appeal, Hines contends that the jury’s verdict is invalid because the jury cannot acquit him of killing the victim by misusing a firearm, yet convict him of killing the victim by possession of the same firearm, without having made inconsistent factual findings. Because Georgia does not recognize an inconsistent verdict rule and Hines’s other enumerations are without merit, we affirm.1 Taken in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict of guilty, the evidence at trial showed that, late in the afternoon of April 8, 2001, Hines and some of his friends and relatives went turkey hunting. They split into two groups, with Hines and his friend Randy Stoker hunting together in one area, and the victim, the victim’s wife, and Hines’s son hunting in a different area, approximately one-fourth mile away. As the sky was growing dark, Hines heard a turkey gobble, “saw it fan out and shot.” Hines’s shot went through heavy foliage and hit the victim approximately eighty feet away. Immediately thereafter, the victim’s wife screamed, “You shot Wood.” Hines and his son went for help, but the victim died before help could arrive.

On his return, Hines tried to convince his son and Stoker to take responsibility for the shooting. They both refused. The entire group, however, agreed to say that they did not know who had shot Wood. Hines removed his camouflage clothing and hid his shotgun and hunting gear before the police arrived.

Hines v. State

Evidence that a convicted felon mistook his friend for a turkey and shot him dead supported his felony murder conviction based on the underlying crime of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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