Dennis Lee Sharpe, Rusty Wiggins, Richard Shipman, and Steve Morrell Mobley Appellants were tried jointly for the malice murder of Keibu Scott. The jury found all of the Appellants guilty, and the trial court sentenced each to life imprisonment. Appellants filed separate motions for new trial, which the trial court denied in an extensive order. They also filed separate notices of appeal, and the cases have been consolidated for purposes of appellate review.1
1. Construed most favorably in support of the verdicts, the evidence shows that Shipman was storing some drugs in a friend’s apartment in Lyons. Scott, the murder victim, and another man broke into the apartment, pointed guns at the occupants, and stole the drugs. Shipman learned about the robbery and, a few days later, he and the three other Appellants took a taxi to Vidalia. There, Wiggins, Mobley, and Sharpe visited LaWanda Roundtree at her apartment, and later Wiggins returned to that apartment alone. Shortly thereafter, the Appellants, one of whom had a handgun with a red laser sight, entered the apartment of Scott’s girlfriend and her sister, Tiffany Dixon, which was two doors down from Ms. Roundtree’s residence. Three of the Appellants took Scott out of the apartment into the woods, while a fourth stayed with Ms. Dixon for a short time. Subsequently, Scott was struck in the face and was shot twice with two different weapons. These injuries resulted in Scott’s death. Ms. Roundtree heard the gunshots soon after Wiggins’ second visit. Wiggins, Mobley, and Sharpe took a taxi back to Lyons, but Shipman called his girlfriend, Debra Toby, who drove him back home. During a police interview, Shipman acknowledged ownership of a handgun with a red laser sight and turned it over. Ms. Toby subsequently told police that Shipman admitted to her that Appellants had killed Scott. At trial, however, she recanted this statement and denied that Shipman made the admission. In discussions with the police, Sharpe admitted his presence at the scene, but stated that he ran away before the shooting.
