Brown v. State

Defendant was not entitled to a charge on involuntary manslaughter where he claimed accident and self-defense and there was no evidence that his use of the murder weapon amounted to reckless conduct or another misdemeanor offense.

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Michael Jerrod Brown was convicted of malice murder, armed robbery and other crimes arising out of the shooting death of Salvador Murillo Rodriguez.1 Finding no error, we affirm. 1. The evidence adduced at trial authorized the jury to find that the victim came to an apartment seeking to purchase crack cocaine and obtain the services of a prostitute. Brown provided the crack at an inflated price and left the victim with a prostitute. Afterwards the men argued over the additional amounts Brown was charging. Brown pulled a gun and attempted to remove the victim’s necklace. The victim resisted and offered Brown a few dollar bills and a watch or bracelet. Brown ordered the victim to empty his pockets and when no other money was found, Brown shot the victim in the head. An eyewitness to the shooting testified that the victim had no weapon and did not approach Brown. No witness heard the victim threaten Brown. The police found no jewelry on the victim after the shooting.

Brown was arrested 12 days later in a ravine after trying to evade arrest. He gave a videotaped statement to police that was consistent with his trial testimony, in which he claimed that because he already knew the victim had a gun, during their argument Brown acted first to pull out his gun, which he held by his side; the victim then grabbed Brown’s hand and while attempting to take the weapon, it accidentally discharged. Brown testified that he saw the victim reaching for the victim’s own weapon at the same time he wrestled with Brown over Brown’s gun.

Brown v. State

Defendant was not entitled to a charge on involuntary manslaughter where he claimed accident and self-defense and there was no evidence that his use of the murder weapon amounted to reckless conduct or another misdemeanor offense.

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