The appellant, Thomas Malaguti, appeals from his conviction of the malice murder of Trevor Skinner.1 On appeal, Malaguti contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to exclude the testimony of a witness on the ground that the State failed to timely disclose that the witness would be an alibi rebuttal witness; that the trial court erred in admitting handwritten letters attributed to Malaguti; and that a State’s witness improperly placed Malaguti’s character into evidence. We find no merit to these contentions, and affirm Malaguti’s conviction for malice murder.
1. Tyshawn Kinebrew testified that about a month before Skinner was killed, Kinebrew saw Skinner hit Brent Whittle during an argument between Skinner and Whittle over money that Skinner allegedly owed to Whittle. Kinebrew added that he took Whittle to a hospital, where Whittle received stitches. At the time of this incident, Kinebrew lived with his girlfriend, Christine Anguin, in an apartment at the Abingdon Woods Apartments in Atlanta. According to Anguin and Kinebrew, shortly after Skinner struck Whittle, Anguin, Kinebrew, and Whittle drove to North Carolina, and picked up Malaguti. Kinebrew testified that while they were in North Carolina, Whittle told Malaguti about his altercation with Skinner, and that Malaguti stated that he would take care of it. Once Whittle, Malaguti, Anguin, and Kinebrew arrived back in Georgia, Malaguti lived with Anguin and Kinebrew at their apartment. Both Anguin and Kinebrew testified that, after they got back from North Carolina, Malaguti stated that he would become friends with Skinner and then kill him. Anguin testified that on January 9, 1998, she was at her apartment with Whittle and Malaguti. Anguin testified that Malaguti and Whittle were driving a gold Toyota Corolla; that they left the apartment sometime that night; and that they both were carrying guns. Anguin testified that Whittle and Malaguti came back to the apartment later that night, and that Malaguti stated that he had killed Skinner by shooting him once and then shooting him again in the head. Kinebrew testified that as it was getting close to dark on January 9, he saw Malaguti in the apartment carrying a black gun.
