That he was scared and knew the victim had another gun in his apartment is insufficient excuse to use deadly force. Since the victim was running toward the brother's apartment, there was no reasonable fear that the victim would injure him or the others, who could merely drive away. The appellant contends the evidence does not support the convictions for murder, but, at most could only be voluntary manslaughter. The state responds that the eyewitness testimony and the appellant's own statement provide enough evidence to persuade a rational jury that he was guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt . The Supreme Court Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict in finding the essential elements of the crime of murder.
Aggravated assault can serve as the underlying felony in support of a finding of felony murder.
Aggravated assault is an assault with a deadly weapon. There is no evidence the victim threatened the appellant in any way. The Supreme Court will review the evidence to see if the trial court should have given the charge on self-defense and consider whether there is any evidence to support the murder convictions.