Cheeves v. State, 306 Ga. 446

On April 30, 2015, Kendrick Cheeves was indicted for malice murder, felony murder (predicated on aggravated assault), aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
On April 11, 2014, Cheeves approached Quinton Henderson, a confrontation escalated, Cheeves produced a gun, pointed it at Henderson, and fired multiple times; Henderson suffered nine gunshot wounds and died at the scene.
Witnesses testified Cheeves continued to fire while Henderson tried to flee and after Henderson had fallen; Cheeves fled the scene and was later identified by witnesses.
Following a June 2015 jury trial, Cheeves was convicted on all counts; he received life without parole for malice murder and consecutive five-year terms on the weapons counts; aggravated assault was merged and felony murder vacated by operation of law.
Cheeves appealed solely arguing the trial court erred by refusing to charge the jury on involuntary manslaughter based on reckless conduct; the Supreme Court also reviewed sufficiency of the evidence sua sponte.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred by refusing to charge involuntary manslaughter (reckless conduct)	Cheeves contends he requested the charge and the jury should have been instructed on involuntary manslaughter	The State argued the evidence showed intentional/felonious conduct (aggravated assault aimed to kill), not mere reckless conduct supporting involuntary manslaughter	Court affirmed: no error; evidence supported malice/felony aggravated assault, not involuntary manslaughter
Sufficiency of the evidence to support murder conviction (court review)	Cheeves did not challenge sufficiency on appeal	State relied on trial evidence of intentional shooting and multiple shots including after victim fell	Court concluded evidence was sufficient to sustain convictions under Jackson v. Virginia

Paulhill v. State, 229 Ga. 415 (1972) (defines involuntary manslaughter in commission of an unlawful act other than a felony and requires intent to commit the unlawful act but not intent to kill)
Oliver v. State, 274 Ga. 539 (2001) (refusal to charge involuntary manslaughter proper where defendant ran up, pointed pistol, and shot victim)
Wainwright v. State, 305 Ga. 63 (2019) (Georgia practice of reviewing sufficiency of the evidence in murder cases)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (1993) (discusses merger/vacatur of felony murder when predicated offense merged into murder conviction)