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Cotton v. State

Evidence showing that defendant attacked and shot the victim without provocation supported his felony murder conviction.

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A jury found Willie James Cotton guilty of felony murder of Anthony Fletcher while in the commission of an aggravated assault. The trial court entered a judgment of conviction and sentenced Cotton to life imprisonment. A timely filed motion for new trial was denied, and he appeals.1

1. Construed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that the victim stopped his car to purchase drugs from Gerald Brown. Cotton approached the vehicle on the passenger side, showed the victim some drugs, demanded money, and began struggling with him. As the victim began to drive away, a single shot was fired through his right arm and into the right side of his chest. Cotton immediately fell to the ground with a pistol by his side and he was subsequently seen in possession of the gun. A rational trier of fact could have found Cotton guilty of felony murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979; Taylor v. State, 272 Ga. 559, 560 1 532 SE2d 395 2000; Dunn v. State, 263 Ga. 343 1 434 SE2d 60 1993; Smith v. State, 260 Ga. 746, 748 2 399 SE2d 66 1991.

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