Jackson v. State, 289 Ga. 798

Appellant Quincy Marcel Jackson was tried for multiple felonies including burglary, false imprisonment, kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and malice murder of Tedla Lemma.
The crimes occurred on November 7, 2007; December 27, 2007; and March 25, 2008, with evidence describing home invasions and a jewelry-store robbery.
Ms. Araya and Ramone Ferguson assisted Jackson; the intruders used guns and duct tape, stole wallets, cash, and valuables, and fled in a getaway car.
During the November 7 incident, Sirak Lemma identified a silver handgun and testified about the wallet theft; police later found the wallet in Jackson’s home in a room believed to be his.
Cell-phone records showed exchanges between Jackson and Araya during the incidents, placing them near the locations involved.
Tedla Lemma died from smothering with blunt-force trauma; jewelry and electronics were missing from the Lemma residence and related crime scenes.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether corroboration under OCGA 24-4-8 supported the accomplice testimony	Araya’s testimony required independent corroboration.	Corroboration not sufficiently established by the wallet and cell records.	Yes; sufficient corroborating evidence independently connected Jackson to the crimes.

Baines v. State, 276 Ga. 117, 575 S.E.2d 495 (2003) (corroboration required for accomplice testimony; may be circumstantial and independent)
Johnson v. State, 288 Ga. 803, 708 S.E.2d 331 (2011) (corroboration must directly connect the defendant to the crime)
Judkins v. State, 282 Ga. 580, 652 S.E.2d 537 (2007) (standard for evaluating sufficiency after accomplice testimony)
Simpson v. State, 278 Ga. 336, 602 S.E.2d 617 (2004) (affirms corroboration standards and circumstantial evidence relevance)
Wilson v. State, 306 Ga. App. 827, 703 S.E.2d 400 (2010) (addressing corroboration and circumstantial evidence in accomplice cases)