Justice Thomas Mercure
Jackson appealed from a judgment convicting him of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The panel rejected Jackson’s contention that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. It noted the record revealed that the victim’s blood was found in Jackson’s front passenger seat, where he was last seen by witnesses attempting to buy marijuana from Jackson. The car was found on fire, which appeared to have started near the front passenger seat. Jackson’s expert testified that a gunshot to head would have resulted in more blood than that discovered in the vehicle, the expert conceded the victim’s sweatshirt could have soaked up a large amount of blood and the fire may have destroyed blood evidence. Further, the court noted that while witnesses testified the victim was seen with a large amount of cash before meeting Jackson, no money was found on his recovered body. Thus, it concluded the evidence established Jackson caused victim’s death in the course of and in furtherance of a robbery or attempted robbery, and possessed a loaded weapon that he fired at the victim in his vehicle. As such, the jury was justified in finding Jackson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and the judgment was affirmed.
