Flournoy v. State, 294 Ga. 741

Flournoy and Williams were tried jointly and convicted of felony murder with an underlying aggravated assault during an armed robbery (May 27, 2006).
Indictments encompassed malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and firearm possession; malice murder verdicts were not reached for both.
Evidence showed they planned to rob Gaddis of marijuana; Flournoy armed Williams and forced Vanderford, Gaddis, and Russell to participate in the robbery.
Gaddis was shot and died; Williams led law enforcement to a gun later recovered; marijuana was not found but admitted by Williams.
The trial court instructed on felony murder and aggravated assault; defense argued this improperly amended the indictment, but the court's instructions were deemed proper.
Issues included severance, Bruton concerns, conspiracy/party-to-crime theories, asportation in kidnapping, and sentencing merger for life terms; the court affirmed all convictions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for felony murder	Evidence supported guilt beyond reasonable doubt.	Insufficient to prove causation and participation beyond mere presence.	Evidence sufficient; rational juror could convict.
Constructive amendment via jury instructions	Instructions allowed conviction on aggravated assault and felony murder beyond indictment.	Instructions improperly broadened the indictment.	No reversible error; instructions correctly tied to indictment and burden of proof.
Conspiracy/party-to-crime instructions necessity	Conspiracy instructions required for accountability.	Conspiracy not necessary where party-to-crime suffices.	Convictions valid as party to a crime; conspiracy instruction not required.
Merger of kidnapping with bodily injury and felony murder	Sentences should merge since same act.	Different elements warrant multiple terms.	No merger; Drinkard test shows separate elements justify separate life sentences.
Severance and Bruton concerns	Severance necessary to prevent Bruton-type prejudice.	Severance denied caused Bruton violation and prejudice.	No abuse of discretion; any Bruton issue was harmless error given the evidence and disclosures; severance not required.

Williams v. Kelley, 291 Ga. 285, 728 S.E.2d 666 (2012) (Ga. 2012) (construes charging and severance principles in Georgia)
Patel v. State, 278 Ga. 403, 603 S.E.2d 237 (2004) (Ga. 2004) (felony murder predicated on aggravated assault; jury must find shooting)
Garza v. State, 284 Ga. 696, 670 S.E.2d 73 (2008) (Ga. 2008) (Garza test for asportation in kidnapping)
Hammond v. State, 289 Ga. 142, 710 S.E.2d 124 (2011) (Ga. 2011) (retroactivity of Garza and asportation standards)
Thomas v. State, 292 Ga. 429, 738 S.E.2d 571 (2013) (Ga. 2013) (merger analysis between offenses with distinct elements)
Krause v. State, 286 Ga. 745, 691 S.E.2d 211 (2010) (Ga. 2010) (factors for severance analysis in joint trials)
Pennie v. State, 292 Ga. 249, 736 S.E.2d 433 (2013) (Ga. 2013) (reaffirms burden of proof and indictment-based charging)
Scott v. State, 229 Ga. 541, 192 S.E.2d 367 (1972) (Ga. 1972) (conspiracy-equivalent theory via aiding and abetting)
Yancey v. State, 281 Ga. 664, 641 S.E.2d 524 (2007) (Ga. 2007) (party-to-crime concept)
Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S. Ct. 1620, 20 L. Ed. 2d 476 (1968) (US 1968) (admission of co-defendant’s statements implicating other defendants)