Myers v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Dwayne Tavares Myers's convictions for felony murder and related crimes arising from a series of burglaries and the shooting death of Edward Davidson. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support Myers's participation in a burglary, that the trial court properly instructed the jury on conspiracy, and that there was no plain error in giving a fingerprint-evidence instruction. All justices concurred.

Holdings

1. The evidence was sufficient for a rational juror to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Myers participated in the burglary at 502 Rust Wood Drive.
2. The trial court did not err by instructing the jury on conspiracy because the evidence authorized the instruction, even though Myers was not indicted for conspiracy.
3. The trial court did not commit plain error by giving the fingerprint-evidence instruction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to convict Myers of the burglary at 502 Rust Wood Drive.
2. Whether the trial court erred by instructing the jury on conspiracy when Myers was not indicted for conspiracy.
3. Whether the trial court committed plain error by giving a fingerprint-evidence instruction concerning fingerprint evidence relating to Myers's cohort rather than Myers.

Disposition

affirmed