Bonman v. State, 298 Ga. 839

On Aug. 27, 2013, Curtis Bonman, Thaddeus Williams, and Killeon Cooper drove to Charlie Davis’s residence intending to rob him; all three were armed.
The three approached Davis, shots were fired; Davis stumbled and was shot at close range; one bullet from a Hi-Point 9mm (admitted to be Bonman’s gun) struck a major blood vessel in Davis’s hip and caused death.
Bonman initially denied involvement but later admitted driving to the scene, firing an initial shot in the air, his gun jammed, and that he gave his Hi-Point 9mm to Cooper, who continued shooting.
Forensics matched 9mm cartridge casings to Bonman’s Hi-Point pistol; a projectile was consistent with a Hi-Point 9mm but could not be conclusively linked to Bonman’s specific gun.
Bonman was convicted by a jury of malice murder, felony murder (later vacated), and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime; sentenced to life plus five years.
Bonman appealed, arguing the trial court erred by refusing to charge unlawful-act involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense; the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed.

Issue	Bonman’s Argument	State’s Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred by refusing to charge unlawful-act involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of murder	Bonman argued his testimony that he fired a shot in the air could support an inference that the falling bullet accidentally struck and killed Davis, which would make involuntary manslaughter applicable	The State argued the evidence supported malice murder: close-range shooting by multiple shooters, Bonman’s participation in a planned armed robbery, and that he provided his gun used in the fatal shooting	Court held any error in refusing the involuntary manslaughter charge was harmless; the record supports malice murder and it is highly probable the refusal did not contribute to the verdict

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes sufficiency-of-the-evidence standard)
Rogers v. State, 289 Ga. 675 (requests for lesser-included offense charges must be given if any evidence supports them)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (procedure on vacating duplicative felony-murder convictions)
Rhode v. State, 274 Ga. 377 (harmless-error analysis for jury charge omissions)
Edwards v. State, 264 Ga. 131 (harmless-error principles applied to refusal to charge lesser offenses)