Bowers, Attorney General, Nicholas G. Dumich, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. Defendant was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault and one count of murder in connection with a series of attacks on taxi drivers in Warner Robins. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, to 10 years for one aggravated assault charge, and to 8 for the other.
Defendant appeals. The evidence showed the defendant shot a gun into the back of the front seat of a cab in which he and Troy Clarington were passengers. This incident is the subject of the first assault charge. The gun had been aimed at the driver, but the bullet lodged in the seat. The driver stopped the car, and Clarington hopped out and ran away.
Defendant got out and told the driver he was going to "blow [him] away. Approximately a week later defendant again requested a cab. This time the driver arrived with a companion, and when they reached the destination, defendant fumbled in his pockets and he then turned to run without paying.
The driver's companion threw a soft drink bottle at defendant, and defendant fired several shots at the cab, hitting it twice according to the cab driver's testimony.
The second assault count is based on this occurrence. Eleven days later a third cab driver was found shot through the back. The bullet had exited through the victim's chest, near his heart. A bullet hole was found in the back of the driver's seat, and the interior of the taxi was splattered with blood. The driver's money and his dollar-sign shaped money clip were missing from his shirt pocket.
