Booker v. State

After its witness recanted his pretrial statement inculpating defendant, the state improperly attempted to bolster his pretrial credibility by showing that he truthfully inculpated other defendants in unrelated homicides.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Quenton Booker appeals his convictions of burglarizing the residence of Keshia Rodgers and Stacy Styles, committing an aggravated assault upon Styles, committing an armed robbery and aggravated assault upon Ray Collier, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Ricky McCoy, one of Booker’s accomplices in the crimes, appeared as a key prosecution witness but disavowed his pretrial statements implicating Booker. Then, in an effort to convince the jury to believe those pretrial statements, the prosecution was allowed to establish the accuracy of information McCoy provided to authorities concerning crimes in which Booker had not participated. We find prejudicial error in the admission of this evidence and reverse. Because we find no merit in Booker’s challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions, the case may be retried.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence showed the following. Ray Collier is a Miami drug dealer who visited Atlanta with his cousin Samuel Collier in December 1994 and sold cocaine to Booker. On the evening of December 15, either Collier or his cousin was involved in some sort of altercation with Booker. Afterward, the Collier cousins went to an apartment where Rodgers and Styles lived. In short order, Booker, McCoy, and Felipe Wyatt appeared at the apartment and began banging on the door. McCoy testified that his intent was to extract revenge for the incident with Booker or take drugs and money thought to be in Collier’s possession or both.

Booker v. State

After its witness recanted his pretrial statement inculpating defendant, the state improperly attempted to bolster his pretrial credibility by showing that he truthfully inculpated other defendants in unrelated homicides.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report