A jury found Carl Hewitt “Hewitt” guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault, and robbery in connection with the fatal shooting of Jeffrey Nigel George; Hewitt was sentenced for the malice murder, aggravated assault, and robbery. He appeals his convictions, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the permitted scope of cross-examination, and the refusal to allow evidence of the deceased victim’s alleged violent reputation and bad acts. Finding the challenges to be without merit, we affirm Hewitt’s convictions.1 The evidence construed in favor of the verdicts showed the following: On March 18, 2001, Jeffrey Nigel George’s beaten and gunshot-riddled body was found in True Love Park in DeKalb County. Although breathing at first, George died shortly after being discovered. He had sustained gunshot wounds to his right front neck, chest, back left shoulder, and right hip, and a grazing wound to the right side of his neck. In addition, George had multiple abrasions and bruises as well as blunt impact lacerations to the right side and back of his head consistent with being struck with the butt of a gun. The cause of death was the gunshot wounds to George’s neck and chest.
Three weeks before, George allegedly had stolen ten pounds of marijuana from Hewitt. A dispute between the two men arose as a result of this, and on the Friday before the murder, Hewitt pulled a handgun on George in order to “scare” him. On the night before George’s murder, Hewitt and his brother Dania Hewitt “Dania”, Antonio Montez, German Montez, and Roy Gabbidon gathered at a club. They displayed and exchanged various assault weapons in the parking lot of the club and then set out to find George. Although they were unable to locate George, they did see his truck in the parking lot of a liquor store. The truck was being driven by George’s girlfriend. Hewitt approached the girlfriend, his handgun visible in the waistband of his pants, and took George’s truck from her as “collateral” for the marijuana theft. He then drove off in the vehicle and abandoned it a short distance away.
