Donaldson v. State, 302 Ga. 671

On June 14, 2015, Robert White was shot outside Donaldson’s apartment; one bullet struck White in the back and later proved fatal; a second shot missed. Donaldson discarded the gun and fled; he was arrested the next day.
A Clayton County grand jury indicted Donaldson on malice murder (acquitted), felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, two aggravated-assault counts (one for the fatal shot, one for the missed shot), and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
At trial Donaldson testified he shot in self-defense after White and another man allegedly forced entry and assaulted him; his girlfriend gave largely similar testimony. The jury convicted Donaldson of felony murder, aggravated assault (two counts), and two firearm-possession counts; the court merged one aggravated-assault count at sentencing but imposed separate sentences on the other aggravated-assault and one firearm count.
Donaldson moved for a new trial on the general grounds under OCGA §§ 5-5-20 and 5-5-21; the trial court denied the motion, expressly stating it had acted as a thirteenth juror.
On appeal Donaldson argued insufficiency of the evidence and that the trial court abused discretion in denying a new trial; the Supreme Court reviewed the record and the trial court’s order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence for convictions	State: evidence (eyewitnesses, autopsy, flight) supports convictions	Donaldson: shot in lawful self-defense and lawfully possessed gun	Affirmed: jury could reject self-defense; evidence sufficient for felony murder and most convictions
Trial court’s denial of new trial under OCGA §§5-5-20/5-5-21	State: trial court properly acted as thirteenth juror and weighed evidence	Donaldson: trial court failed to exercise discretion and should have granted new trial	Affirmed: trial court expressly stated it exercised thirteenth juror duty; appellate court will not reweigh general grounds denial
Merger of aggravated-assault convictions with felony murder	State: one fatal incident supports merger of underlying felonies into felony murder	N/A (merger is a sentencing/legal error)	Partial reversal: aggravated-assault Count 4 (missed shot) should have merged into felony murder; Count 4 conviction vacated
Merger of multiple firearm-possession convictions	State: only one firearm-possession conviction per victim where crimes are part of one continuous incident	N/A	Vacated Count 6 (second firearm-possession conviction); one firearm-possession conviction affirmed

Graham v. State, 301 Ga. 675 (jury resolves credibility and conflicts in evidence)
Chapa v. State, 288 Ga. 505 (same principle on credibility)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency review)
Allen v. State, 296 Ga. 738 (trial court must show correct standard when acting as thirteenth juror)
Simpson v. State, 298 Ga. 314 (appellate court cannot grant new trial on general grounds)
Slaton v. State, 296 Ga. 122 (same limitation on appellate review)
Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49 (appellate courts may raise merger issues sua sponte)
Gomez v. State, 301 Ga. 445 (multiple wounds fired without deliberate interval merge into felony murder)
Grell v. State, 291 Ga. 615 (shots fired without deliberate interval are not separate aggravated assaults)
Coleman v. State, 286 Ga. 291 (multiple quick succession wounds do not create separate assaults)
Abdullah v. State, 284 Ga. 399 (one firearm-possession conviction per victim for a continuous crime spree)
Stovall v. State, 287 Ga. 415 (same rule on firearm-possession merger)
Carter v. State, 285 Ga. 394 (underlying felony merges into felony murder)