304 Ga. 813
Ga.2018Background
- Victim Brandon Jones was fatally shot 23 times in an apartment-complex parking lot on October 8, 2010; the shooter likely used an AK-47 or similar rifle.
- Multiple witnesses placed Anthony Bernard Lewis (nicknamed “Little Ant,” ~5'4") at the scene, saw him with a rifle or a “chopper,” heard him threaten Jones, and observed him take something from Jones’s right hand and run.
- Two witnesses with criminal histories (including Jamri Pamodei Ogoun) later identified Lewis as the shooter; Lewis’s mother and another neighbor testified they saw a tall man (identified as Ogoun) at the scene and suggested Ogoun as the shooter.
- A recorded jailhouse call showed Lewis coaching his girlfriend about an alibi, undermining his defense.
- Lewis was convicted of malice murder and unlawful possession of a firearm; on appeal he argued the State withheld Brady material—an investigatory summary from a separate murder probe recounting Ogoun’s statements that could suggest Ogoun had motive to harm Jones.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of the evidence | Lewis contended evidence might point to Ogoun as shooter (implicit challenge) | State argued testimony and physical evidence supported convictions | Court independently found evidence sufficient to sustain convictions |
| Brady suppression (failure to disclose Ogoun interview summary) | Lewis argued the undisclosed summary showed Ogoun had motive to kill Jones and thus was material/exculpatory | State and trial court said the summary was cryptic, not clearly exculpatory or material given the whole record and existing impeachment of Ogoun | Court held no reasonable probability the summary would have affected the verdict; Brady claim fails |
Key Cases Cited
- Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (establishing prosecution's duty to disclose favorable material evidence)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standards for sufficiency of the evidence review)
- Cone v. Bell, 556 U.S. 449 (defining materiality standard under Brady)
- Turner v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 1885 (clarifying reasonable-probability/undermining-confidence standard for Brady)
- Jones v. Medlin, 302 Ga. 555 (state standard on suppression and Brady analysis)