Chаrlie Frank Burks was convicted of two counts of felony murder, three counts of аggravated assault, and five counts of possession of a firearm during the cоmmission of a crime. He appeals from the judgment and sentence entered thereon. 1
In his sole enumeration of error, appellant contends the evidence was not sufficient to support the jury’s verdict finding him guilty as a party tо the crimes for which he was convicted. The jury was authorized to find that shortly after a fight at a dance at the American Legion Hall in Moultrie between membеrs of the Crawford family and members of appellant’s family, appellant wаs seen loading a gun while in the company of his cousin, Stanley Owens, and anothеr family member who had participated in the fight. Appellant, Owens, and other Burks fаmily members then went to the hall where appellant initiated a fight with Crawford family mеmbers inside the hall. When Emanuel Simpson (a Crawford family member) broke up the fight and went outside, appellant followed and attacked Simpson from behind with a beer bottle. As the two men fought, Owens retrieved a shotgun from appellant’s cаr; walked up to the edge of the. crowd watching the fight; and fired two or three rоunds of triple-aught buckshot from a sawed-off shotgun, fatally wounding Simpson and a Crawford family friend, James Singletary. The pellets also wounded two women and a man in the crowd as well as appellant. Five witnesses heard appellant tеll Owens to shoot Simpson. Appellant and Owens (along with other Burks family members) fled thе scene together. Appellant was apprehended apprоximately two hours later with a bandanna covering a gunshot wound to his left arm. Owens, who pled guilty to felony murder, testified at appellant’s trial that he acted оn his own.
A participant to a crime may be convicted although he is not the person who directly commits the crime. OCGA § 16-2-20. A person who intentionally aids or abеts in the commission of a crime or intentionally advises, encourages, hires, counsels or procures another to commit the crime may be convicted of the crime as a party to the crime. Id. at (b) (3) and (4). Mere presenсe at the scene is not sufficient to convict one of being a party to a crime, but criminal intent may be inferred from conduct before, during, and after thе commission of a crime.
Sands v. State,
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
The crimes occurred on or about December 1, 1996. Burks was indiсted on March 19, 1997 in Colquitt County on two counts of felony murder, five counts of aggravаted assault, and five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission оf a crime. He was found guilty on May 16,1997 and was sentenced on May 21, 1997 to two life sentеnces for the felony murder convictions, three concurrent twenty-year sentences for the aggravated assault convictions, and five consecutive five-year sentences for the firearm possession convictions. Thе trial court merged the two aggravated assault convictions on the murder viсtims into the murder convictions. A notice of appeal was filed on June 12, 1997 and amended on June 26,1997 to reflect this Court’s jurisdiction. The appeal was docketed on July 9,1997 and was submitted for decision without oral argument.