Bowen v. State

The evidence was sufficient for the jury to have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, either directly or as a party to a crime, of felony murder and other crimes in connection with a shooting at a drug house.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Appellant Rodqucas Bowen was found guilty by a jury of felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of victim Henry Wright, Jr.1 The trial court denied appellant’s motion for new trial and he appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and alleging trial court error in limiting the scope of voir dire and in admitting pre-trial photographic identification evidence. Finding no error, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts, the evidence at trial established as follows. On April 9, 2009, appellant went to buy drugs at a drug or trap house operated by Paul Parker and cousins Antonio and Dontravious Fagin out of an apartment in Fulton County. That afternoon, Antonio Fagin and Wright, who worked as the trap house door man, were the only people present in the apartment and were unarmed.2 Appellant knocked on the trap house door and Antonio, who didn’t know appellant’s name, but recognized his face, told Wright to let him inside.3 After selling appellant marijuana in the living room, Antonio returned to the adjacent kitchen area where he was cooking chicken. About a minute later, he heard gunshots and, looking over the countertop into the living room, saw a man with dreadlocks and a baseball cap standing by the front door pointing a gun at him. Appellant, who was still in the apartment, entered the kitchen and Antonio, noticing a gun-like bulge under appellant’s shirt, ran out the back door leaving appellant inside. A woman who lived near the apartment testified that she saw two men, one with little or no hair and one with dreads, walk up to the trap house shortly before the shooting occurred. She stated that, after hearing the shots, she saw both men leave the apartment through the front door followed by an injured Wright, who staggered toward the street corner before collapsing on the curb.

Bowen v. State

The evidence was sufficient for the jury to have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, either directly or as a party to a crime, of felony murder and other crimes in connection with a shooting at a drug house.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report