Gude v. State, 320 Ga. 308

DeRon Edrias Gude was convicted of felony murder and related charges for the fatal shooting of Nyyokokie Hendley in 2016 after a confrontation at his home.
Gude and Hendley had a brief romantic relationship, and on the night of the incident, Gude called 911 and claimed the gun went off during a fight.
At trial, Gude testified that he shot Hendley in self-defense after she threatened him with a gun, but also admitted to disposing of his illegal firearm afterward.
The jury convicted Gude of felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, and other counts, but acquitted him of malice murder; some charges were vacated or merged for sentencing.
Gude appealed, claiming an erroneous jury instruction on aggravated assault and ineffective assistance of counsel for not objecting to that instruction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Jury instruction on aggravated assault	Error to instruct on uncharged method of assault (placing in fear) rather than actual shooting	No harm since jury necessarily found Gude intended to shoot; jury had indictment and proper burden instructions	No plain error; conviction affirmed
Ineffective assistance for failure to object to jury charge	Counsel was deficient for not objecting to instruction; this prejudiced the outcome	No prejudice because result would not have changed given the jury instructions and evidence	No ineffective assistance; conviction affirmed

Cato v. State, 304 Ga. 496 (plain error review of jury instructions, especially where indictment and instructions clarify method)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (sets standard for ineffective assistance of counsel claims)
Dixon v. State, 302 Ga. 691 (on vacating and merging convictions at sentencing)
Patel v. State, 278 Ga. 403 (jury cannot convict of felony murder based solely on placing victim in fear; must find actual shooting)