Court Opinion

ID: 9624343
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:59:13.559563+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:44:47.975483
License: Public Domain

Melton, Justice.
Following a jury trial, John G. McNeil was found guilty of aggravated assault and felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Brian Epp.1 On appeal, McNeil contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction, that the trial court erred in failing to include on the verdict form a requirement that the jury determine whether justification existed as to each count, that the trial court erred in its pattern jury instructions on *587aggravated assault and felony murder, that the trial court erred in failing to recharge the jury on justification and self-defense, and that McNeil was denied his constitutional right to due process due to the State’s use of aggravated assault as the underlying felony to support the felony murder charge in the indictment. Finding no error, we affirm.
1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence reveals that, in September 2005, McNeil contracted to buy an unfinished home from Epp Elevations, a small building company owned by Epp and his wife. On December 6, 2005, Epp went to McNeil’s house to complete required work. McNeil’s son, La’Ron, was home and called McNeil to report that someone was in the backyard. Believing that Epp was a trespasser, La’Ron confronted Epp and asked him to leave, and an argument ensued during which Epp pointed a knife at La’Ron. La’Ron called McNeil to report this incident to him.
In response, McNeil headed home in his car. On the way back he reported to an emergency 911 operator that a man was on his property and had pulled a knife on his son. Moments later, McNeil told the operator, “I’m at the property now. . . and there’s the builder and I may get ready to whip his ass right now. So get the cops here now.”As McNeil was pulling into his driveway, he retrieved an automatic handgun from his car’s glove compartment, removed it from its case, and loaded it with ammunition.
An eyewitness who was across the street heard McNeil and Epp arguing loudly. A few minutes later he heard a loud pop and saw smoke and McNeil pointing his hand toward the ground and stepping backward. Epp was in the yard between McNeil’s house and the one next door and walking toward McNeil. McNeil continued to back up with his hands pointed toward the ground and said “Back up, I am not playing with you.” Epp increased his speed toward McNeil and McNeil raised his gun and fired at Epp’s head. Epp’s hands were at his sides, and the eyewitness did not see him raise his hands or see any weapons in his hands.
Later, an officer arrived at the scene and found Epp on the ground with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. McNeil informed the officer that Epp had pulled a knife on him and then McNeil shot him. The officer saw a knife clipped inside the right hand pocket of Epp’s pants. A forensic investigator from the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office also responded to the scene and noticed that the knife in Epp’s pocket was folded. Dr. Brian Frist, the Chief Medical Examiner of Cobb County, later determined that the abrasions on Epp’s face indicated that he had been shot at a distance of less than three feet. There were no abrasions on Epp’s hands to indicate that he had raised his hands to defend himself.
*588The evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find McNeil guilty of all of the crimes for which he was convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). See also, e.g., Jolley v. State, 254 Ga. 624 (1) (331 SE2d 516) (1985) (despite claim of self-defense, evidence supported felony murder conviction based on aggravated assault where defendant retrieved pistol in anticipation of confrontation and told victim to leave before shooting him). Indeed, from the evidence presented, the jury was authorized to conclude that McNeil decided to confront Epp with the specific purpose of “whip[ping] his ass” before Epp even knew that McNeil was on his way to the scene; that McNeil had time to stop in his driveway, retrieve a gun from his glove compartment, take the gun out of its case, load it, exit from his car, and “argue loudly” with Epp for a few minutes before firing the first shot at him; and that McNeil lied to police when he claimed that he had shot Epp because Epp had “pulled a knife on him” during the confrontation (because other eyewitness testimony showed that Epp had no weapon in his hands at the time of the shooting, and further testimony showed that Epp’s knife was folded and in his pocket after he had been shot). Because “[w]itness credibility is a matter to be determined by the jury, as is the question of justification;... the jury was free to accept the evidence that the shooting[ ] [was] not done in self-defense. . . and to reject any evidence offered by [McNeil] in support of a justification defense.” (Citation omitted.) Harris v. State, 279 Ga. 304, 306 (2) (612 SE2d 789) (2005). As sufficient evidence existed to support the conclusion that McNeil committed the offense of aggravated assault, and felony murder predicated on that aggravated assault, there is no basis for overturning the jury’s verdict here.2
2. McNeil contends that the trial court erred by failing to include on the verdict form a requirement that the jury determine whether justification was found as to each count. However, the record reveals that McNeil’s counsel specifically informed the trial court that he had “no objection to the [verdict] form as is,” without any changes having to be made to it. McNeil has therefore waived review of this *589issue on appeal. Jones v. State, 279 Ga. 854 (7) (a) (622 SE2d 1) (2005).
3. Similarly, McNeil has waived the specific issue that he attempts to raise on appeal with respect to the pattern jury charges on aggravated assault and felony murder. Although McNeil’s counsel purported to reserve a general objection to the jury charges below, he also specifically informed the trial court that he was “solid on” and had no objection to “any pattern charges.” Indeed, even where there is no “general waiver of the right to urge error in any of the trial court’s charges ... a defendant will not be allowed to take inconsistent positions, originally urging in the trial court that a charge is not error, but subsequently urging on appeal that the charge is error.” Roulain v. Martin, 266 Ga. 353, 354 (2) (466 SE2d 837) (1996). Because McNeil acquiesced to the use of the pattern charges below, he cannot now complain on appeal that the use of the pattern charges was erroneous. See id.
4. McNeil argues that the trial court erred in failing to recharge the jury as to justification and self-defense upon his request. The record reveals, however, that the jury requested a recharge on malice murder and voluntary manslaughter only, which the trial court gave. “When a jury requests a recharge on a particular point, the trial court has the discretion to recharge in full or only as to the points requested. [Cit.]” Johnson v. State, 281 Ga. 770, 773 (3) (642 SE2d 827) (2007). The trial court did not abuse its discretion by declining defense counsel’s request that the court also recharge the jury on justification and self-defense. Id.
5. McNeil’s contention that an aggravated assault charge cannot be used as the underlying felony to support a conviction for felony murder is without merit, as this Court has already decided that the use of an aggravated assault charge in this manner is proper. Baker v. State, 236 Ga. 754 (1) (225 SE2d 269) (1976).

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur, except Sears, C. J., who dissents.

 On September 28, 2006, McNeil was indicted for malice murder, felony murder (with aggravated assault as the underlying felony), aggravated assault, and voluntary manslaughter. Following a jury trial on October 30-November 6, 2006, McNeil was found guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault, but was acquitted of murder and voluntary manslaughter. On November 8, 2006, McNeil was sentenced to life imprisonment for felony murder, and the trial court merged the aggravated assault count with the felony murder count for sentencing purposes. McNeil’s motion for new trial was filed on November 30, 2006, and was amended on February 9, 2007. The motion was denied on October 5, 2007. McNeil was granted an out-of-time appeal on February 29, 2008, and he filed his appeal in the Court of Appeals. McNeil’s appeal was transferred from the Court of Appeals to this Court on April 1, 2008. His appeal was docketed in this Court on April 3, 2008, and orally argued on June 30, 2008.

 While evidence was presented that would have authorized the jury to reach a different result such as that outlined by the dissent by focusing solely on Epp’s alleged aggression, the jury was free to reject that version of the facts and instead focus on the evidence reflecting McNeil’s aggression. In reaching its conclusion, the dissent has reweighed the evidence and reassessed the credibility of the witnesses presented at trial. This Court, however, is forbidden from reassessing the evidence in such a manner on appeal, as “resolving evidentiary conflicts and inconsistencies, and assessing witness credibility, are the province of the factfinder, not this Court.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Dean v. State, 273 Ga. 806, 807 (1) (546 SE2d 499) (2001).