State of Tennessee v. Scott Lee ( 2015 )


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  •         IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
    AT JACKSON
    Assigned on Briefs February 3, 2015
    STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SCOTT LEE
    Appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County
    No.11-03839     James C. Beasley, Jr., Judge
    No. W2014-00986-CCA-R3-CD - Filed June 25, 2015
    The defendant, Scott Lee, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of first
    degree murder in the perpetration of attempted robbery; two counts of attempted second
    degree murder, Class B felonies; aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; employing a
    firearm during the commission of a felony, a Class C felony; and felon in possession of a
    firearm, a Class E felony. He was sentenced to an effective term of life plus forty-five
    years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues: (1) that the trial
    court erred in denying his motion in limine to keep his prior convictions listed in Count 6
    of the indictment from being heard and seen by the jury, and (2) that the evidence is
    insufficient to sustain his convictions. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial
    court.
    Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Affirmed
    ALAN E. GLENN, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JOHN EVERETT
    WILLIAMS, J., concurred. CAMILLE R. MCMULLEN, J., filed a concurring opinion.
    Harry E. Sayle, III (on appeal), Robert Felkner and Michele Lynn (at trial), Assistant
    Public Defenders, for the Appellant, Scott Lee.
    Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Tracy L. Alcock, Assistant
    Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Pamela Fleming-Stark
    and Reginald Henderson, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of
    Tennessee.
    OPINION
    FACTS
    The proof at trial showed that during the late night hours of September 17, 2010,
    the defendant and co-defendant, Calvin Rogers, followed and fired multiple shots at a car
    occupied by three men after the men declined their offer to provide the men with drugs
    and prostitutes. As a result, the defendant was indicted for the first degree murder of
    Ameer Althaibani in the perpetration of robbery, the attempted second degree murder and
    aggravated robbery of Dhaiban Mohammed, the attempted second degree murder of Fazil
    Rahman, employing a firearm during the commission of a felony, and felon in possession
    of a firearm.1 We will attempt to limit our recitation of the testimony at trial to that
    relevant to the defendant‟s issues on appeal.
    Sultan Althaibani, the victim‟s father, testified that he last spoke with his son on
    September 17, 2010, when the victim was working at the store owned by his cousin,
    Dhaiban Mohammed. Mr. Althaibani learned early the next morning that the victim had
    been killed.
    Dhaiban Mohammed testified that, on September 17, 2010, around 10:00 p.m., he
    picked up his cousin, the victim, and his classmate, Fazil Rahman, from their jobs in
    Bartlett, Tennessee, to take both men home. As Mr. Mohammed was driving on Sam
    Cooper Boulevard in his Nissan Maxima toward Highland Street, he mistakenly missed
    the Highland Street exit because he was talking with the other men and not paying
    attention. He got off at the next exit, Hollywood Street, and drove to Poplar Avenue
    where he stopped at a service station to buy a soda.
    At the service station, Mr. Mohammed noticed two men in a silver “old model”
    car. However, at some point, the driver of the other car got out of his car and talked to
    the service station clerk. As Mr. Mohammed was returning to his car, the two men hailed
    him over to their car and invited him and his friends to a party. Mr. Mohammed told
    them that he did not want to go to a party and walked back to his car, which was parked
    next to a gas pump. The men then pulled their car up beside Mr. Mohammed‟s car with
    their car facing the opposite direction. The driver spoke to Mr. Mohammed, offering “to
    get [them] some drugs and some prostitutes.” Mr. Mohammed responded that he was
    “good” and that he needed to get home because it was late and he had to work the next
    morning.
    Mr. Mohammed left the service station, driving on Hollywood Street toward Sam
    Cooper Boulevard. He turned right off of Hollywood and observed the car from the
    service station pass him. The car stopped at a stop sign, and Mr. Mohammed stopped
    behind it. The two men got out of their vehicle, each holding a gun. One man
    1
    Because there are multiple victims in this case, we will refer to the victim of the felony murder
    as “the victim” and the remaining victims by surname.
    -2-
    approached the driver‟s side, and the other man approached the passenger‟s side where
    the victim and Mr. Rahman were sitting. The man on the driver‟s side pointed a gun to
    Mr. Mohammed‟s head and demanded money. Mr. Mohammed gave money to the man,
    but the man threatened that he was going to kill them and tried to open the door.
    Thinking he was going to die, Mr. Mohammed hit the gas on his car and drove away.
    As Mr. Mohammed drove away, both men fired several shots at his car. The
    victim was hit with a bullet on his right side, and blood started pouring out of his mouth.
    Mr. Mohammed drove to the first open service station that he saw and called 911. Mr.
    Mohammed remained at the service station until the police and an ambulance arrived, but
    the victim was already dead. The police put Mr. Mohammed in the backseat of a patrol
    car and eventually transported him to the police station, where he spoke to the police.
    The next day, the police visited Mr. Mohammed‟s house and showed him a photographic
    array, from which he identified the man who stood on the driver‟s side door and pointed a
    gun at him. Mr. Mohammed said that he only paid attention to the man on his side of the
    car.
    Fazil Rahman testified that he was working in Bartlett, Tennessee, on September
    17, 2010. Mr. Rahman‟s car was broken down, so a classmate of his, Mr. Mohammed,
    and Mr. Mohammed‟s cousin, the victim, picked him up from his job around 11:00 p.m.
    Mr. Rahman sat in the backseat on the passenger side, and the victim sat in the front
    passenger seat. Mr. Mohammed drove down Sam Cooper Boulevard toward Highland
    Street, but he missed his exit because they were talking and joking. Mr. Mohammed took
    the exit for Hollywood Street and drove toward Poplar Avenue.
    When they got to Poplar Avenue, Mr. Mohammed decided to stop at a service
    station to buy “some drinks and some chips.” Mr. Rahman walked toward the store to
    buy a drink but stopped when he saw two men talking to Mr. Mohammed. One of the
    men was bald, wore a white tee shirt, held a puppy on a leash, and was standing outside a
    silver, four-door Honda talking to the store clerk. The other man, whom Mr. Rahman
    identified as the defendant, sat inside the silver Honda and had dreadlocks and a “heavy”
    mustache. Mr. Mohammed told Mr. Rahman that the men had asked if “they want[ed]
    drugs and girls or do we want to have a party,” and Mr. Mohammed had told the men that
    they were not interested. Mr. Mohammed went on and purchased a soda at the store, but
    Mr. Rahman decided to return to the car instead. After Mr. Mohammed got back to the
    car, the two men pulled their car up next to Mr. Mohammed‟s car and again asked the
    men if they wanted anything, and Mr. Rahman responded that they did not want.
    Mr. Mohammed drove away from the gas station. Mr. Rahman suggested that
    they take what he believed to be a shortcut back to Sam Cooper Boulevard, rather than
    drive down Poplar all the way to Highland. They drove down Hollywood and then
    -3-
    turned on a street, thinking it was a shortcut. As Mr. Mohammed approached a stop sign,
    out of nowhere, the silver car from the service station passed quickly in front of Mr.
    Mohammed‟s car and stopped near the stop sign. They had not realized that the silver car
    had been following them until that point. One of the men in the silver car turned off the
    car‟s headlights and turned on the interior lights.
    Mr. Rahman told Mr. Mohammed to be careful and not turn off the car. Mr.
    Rahman saw the bald man, the silver car‟s driver, approach Mr. Mohammed on the
    driver‟s side, point a gun at him, and demand all of his money. When a shocked Mr.
    Rahman looked up, he saw the defendant, the silver car‟s passenger, standing on the
    passenger‟s side of Mr. Mohammed‟s car demanding that he and the victim give him
    money. Mr. Rahman tried to give the defendant his wallet, money, and keys, but stopped
    when the bald man ordered Mr. Mohammed to step out of the car and threatened that
    “ya‟ll three is going to get killed tonight anyway.”
    Mr. Rahman heard the bald man click his gun and, believing they were “going to
    get killed anyway,” very quietly told Mr. Mohammed to push the gas pedal. When Mr.
    Mohammed pushed the gas, bullets started coming from everywhere. Mr. Rahman felt
    bullets hit and penetrate the car from both sides. He estimated that he heard seventeen or
    eighteen gunshots. A bullet hit the victim during their escape, and Mr. Rahman saw
    blood coming from the victim‟s mouth and placed his hand on the victim‟s neck. Mr.
    Rahman thought that he, himself, had five or six shots in his back because he could not
    feel or hear anything. He then felt a bullet hit his leg.
    Mr. Mohammed pulled into a service station, and they called the police. When the
    police arrived, they informed the police that they had been carjacked and robbed. The
    police transported Mr. Rahman first to the hospital to have his leg examined and then to
    the police station where they took his statement. The following day, the police showed
    Mr. Rahman a photographic array at his house, from which he identified the bald man,
    the driver of the silver car, and noted that he was 75% sure of his identification. He was
    only 75% sure because he had not been focused on the bald man because the bald man
    stood on Mr. Mohammed‟s side of the car.
    A few days later, police showed Mr. Rahman another photographic array, from
    which he identified the defendant and wrote: “I don‟t know him and I don‟t know his
    name. He robbed us and he shot us and he was [o]n the right side of the car on passenger
    right side.” Mr. Rahman said that he was 100% sure of his identification of the
    defendant. Mr. Rahman recalled the defendant‟s face from the service station and when
    he stood on Mr. Rahman‟s side of the car trying to rob them. Mr. Rahman subsequently
    identified the defendant at a preliminary hearing as well.
    -4-
    Lieutenant James Max of the Memphis Police Department testified as to his
    participation in the investigation of the victim‟s homicide. As part of his investigation,
    Lieutenant Max viewed the surveillance video from the Shell service station at the corner
    of Poplar and Hollywood. The video showed three views: one focusing on the cashier,
    one focusing on the business‟s front door, and an outside view facing east on Hollywood.
    At the time of the video, the store was locked and in security mode, meaning customers
    were not allowed in the store and all purchases had to be made at a window. The video
    showed the store clerk, Vernadette Neeley, talking to a man with a small dog at the front
    door, and Ms. Neeley unlocking the door and stepping outside and continuing to talk to
    the man.
    Based on what he saw on the surveillance video, Lieutenant Max developed
    Calvin Rogers as a suspect. He prepared a photographic array that included Mr. Rogers‟
    photo and showed it to Mr. Mohammed at his home. In order to protect the integrity of
    the case, another officer visited Mr. Rahman at his home and showed him the same array
    at the same time that Lieutenant Max showed the array to Mr. Mohammed. The officers
    made every effort to show Mr. Mohammed and Mr. Rahman the arrays simultaneously.
    Mr. Mohammed immediately identified Mr. Rogers from the array of six photographs.
    Within a couple of days, the defendant was developed as the other suspect.
    Lieutenant Max was aware that one of the victims identified the defendant from a
    photographic array. Arrest warrants were obtained for the defendant and Mr. Rogers, and
    Lieutenant Max sent a task force to search for the two suspects. The defendant was
    arrested approximately six weeks after the incident, and Mr. Rogers was arrested
    approximately six months after the incident.
    Officer Christopher Sanders, a crime scene investigator with the Memphis Police
    Department, processed and collected evidence from both the scene where the shooting
    occurred as well as the scene to where the victims fled to seek aid. Officer Sanders
    collected one spent .380 shell casing and eight nine-millimeter shell casings from the
    scene of the shooting. Officer David Payment, also a crime scene investigator with the
    Memphis Police Department, processed the victims‟ vehicle and notated its damage. He
    collected several projectiles and bullet fragments from the car.
    Vernadette Neeley, Calvin Rogers‟ former girlfriend, testified that she was
    working at the Flash Market service station at the corner of Hollywood and Poplar on
    September 17, 2010. Her shift began at 11:00 p.m., at which time the store was locked
    and she served customers from a window. That night, she spoke with Mr. Rogers outside
    the store, and he brought her a puppy. Ms. Neeley recalled that there was another man in
    Mr. Rogers‟ vehicle, a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and a thick mustache. Ms.
    Neeley later identified a photograph of Mr. Rogers from a photographic array.
    -5-
    Gabrielle Lee, the defendant‟s sister, identified the defendant in the courtroom and
    in a photographic array. She stated that Mr. Rogers is her second cousin and identified
    him in an array. She said that Ms. Neeley was Mr. Rogers‟ former girlfriend.
    Ruby Myatt testified that she had known Mr. Rogers for fifteen or twenty years
    and they had dated. Ms. Myatt could not recall the exact date, but sometime in
    September 2010 before the incident occurred, Mr. Rogers and his cousin visited her
    house and she took them with her to the home of her friend, Ashley. After Mr. Rogers
    and his cousin left Ashley‟s house, Ms. Myatt learned that Ashley‟s pit bull puppy was
    missing.
    Officer Trey Norris of the Memphis Police Department participated in the
    apprehension of the defendant on October 29, 2010, and brought him into custody.
    Special Agent Steve Scott, a forensic scientist in the Firearms Identification Unit
    of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, tested the evidence in the case and compiled an
    official firearms report. He determined that cartridge cases recovered from the scene
    were fired from two different weapons.
    Dr. Marco Ross with the Shelby County Medical Examiner‟s Office performed an
    autopsy on the victim on September 18, 2010. Dr. Ross detailed the various gunshot
    wounds sustained by the victim, and he opined that the victim died as a result of a
    gunshot wound to the chest.
    Wanda Wright, an employee with the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk‟s
    Office, maintained the records of the defendant‟s prior convictions. Her records showed
    that the defendant had previously been convicted of five felonies: aggravated robbery,
    two attempted robberies, theft valued over $1000, and escape.
    Following the conclusion of the proof, the jury convicted the defendant as charged
    of first degree murder in the perpetration of attempted robbery, two counts of attempted
    second degree murder, aggravated robbery, employing a firearm during the commission
    of a felony, and felon in possession of a firearm.
    ANALYSIS
    I. Prior Convictions
    The defendant first argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine
    to keep his prior convictions listed in Count 6 of the indictment from being heard and
    -6-
    seen by the jury. He asserts that allowing the jury to hear about his prior convictions
    “greatly prejudice[d] the jury” in determining his guilt for the present charges.
    The record shows that Count 6 of the indictment, charging the defendant with
    felon in possession of a firearm, detailed that the defendant had previously been
    convicted of aggravated robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, theft of property over
    $10,000, theft of property over $1,000, and escape from felony incarceration. Before the
    reading of the indictment, the defendant asked that the prior convictions be redacted from
    the indictment so the jury would not learn of them, but the State asserted that it had to
    prove the convictions as an element of the offense. The court determined that the State
    had to prove that the defendant had a prior felony conviction in order to prove that the
    defendant was a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
    Prior to the testimony of Wanda Wright of the criminal court clerk‟s office, the
    defendant renewed his objection, asserting that the admission of his record was unfairly
    prejudicial. The court commented that it did not necessarily disagree with the defendant
    that it was prejudicial but that “the way the case was indicted and under the law[,] [the
    State] ha[d] a right to do that.” After Ms. Wright‟s testimony and again during final jury
    instructions, the trial court instructed the jury that it was to consider proof that the
    defendant had previously been convicted of other crimes only as that related to its
    consideration of the charge of felon in possession of a handgun.
    In considering this issue, we apply the rule that “admission of evidence is
    entrusted to the sound discretion of the trial court, and a trial court‟s ruling on evidence
    will be disturbed only upon a clear showing of abuse of discretion.” State v. Robinson,
    
    146 S.W.3d 469
    , 490 (Tenn. 2004). See State v. DuBose, 
    953 S.W.2d 649
    , 652 (Tenn.
    1997). A trial court‟s exercise of discretion will only be reversed on appeal if the court
    “„applied an incorrect legal standard, or reached a decision which is against logic or
    reasoning that caused an injustice to the party complaining.‟” 
    Robinson, 146 S.W.3d at 490
    (quoting State v. Shuck, 
    953 S.W.2d 662
    , 669 (Tenn. 1997)).
    When determining admissibility, a trial court must first decide if the evidence is
    relevant. Tenn. R. Evid. 402 (“All relevant evidence is admissible except as provided by
    the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Tennessee, these rules or other
    rules or laws of general application in the courts of Tennessee. Evidence which is not
    relevant is not admissible.”); 
    Robinson, 146 S.W.3d at 490
    . Relevant evidence is
    “evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence
    to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without
    the evidence.” Tenn. R. Evid. 401. However, relevant evidence may be excluded if “its
    probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.” Tenn. R.
    Evid. 403.
    -7-
    Evidence of a defendant‟s prior crimes is not admissible to show that the
    defendant acted in conformity with the prior bad acts. Tenn. R. Evid. 404(b). However,
    evidence of a defendant‟s prior conduct is admissible if a material issue exists other than
    conduct conforming to a character trait, and the probative value outweighs the danger of
    unfair prejudice. 
    Id. The defendant
    asserts that under Harrison v. State, 
    394 S.W.2d 713
    , 717 (Tenn.
    1965), it was prejudicial error for the jury to hear evidence of his prior convictions, and
    that the “similarity between the charged crimes and the prior convictions is too great, and
    the prior convictions bear no relevance to the charges in the indictment other than count
    six.” However, the trial court properly exercised its discretion in allowing the State to
    introduce evidence of the defendant‟s prior convictions because the State was required to
    prove that the defendant had committed prior felonies to prove the charge of convicted
    felon in possession of a handgun, and the defendant failed to stipulate that he was a
    convicted felon.
    Tennessee courts have “long held that the name or nature of crimes other than that
    for which the defendant is on trial is relevant to establish an essential element of the
    crime for which the defendant is being tried.” State v. James, 
    81 S.W.3d 751
    , 760 (Tenn.
    2002) (citing State v. Wingard, 
    891 S.W.2d 628
    , 633-34 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1994); State
    v. Blackmon, 
    701 S.W.2d 228
    , 232 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1985); Lacey v. State, 
    506 S.W.2d 809
    , 811 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1974). However, when evidence of a defendant‟s prior
    conviction is necessary to prove the status element of an offense, the defendant may offer
    to stipulate his status as a felon. See 
    James, 81 S.W.3d at 762
    . In the limited
    circumstance when the sole purpose of introducing evidence of a defendant‟s prior
    convictions is to prove the status element of an offense and the defendant offers to
    stipulate his status as a felon, the probative value of the evidence is, as a matter of law,
    outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice. 
    Id. When there
    is no stipulation, however,
    the “probative value of an essential element of the offense would almost always outweigh
    any potential prejudice under Rule 404(b) [of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence], [and
    therefore the] specific nature of the offense [would be] admissible.” 
    Wingard, 891 S.W.2d at 634
    , overruled on other grounds by 
    James, 81 S.W.3d at 763
    n.7.
    The defendant has failed to show that the trial court abused its discretion in
    allowing the State to introduce evidence of his prior convictions to prove an essential
    element of the charge of convicted felon in possession of a handgun. In denying the
    motion for new trial, the trial court found that it had properly followed the law by
    allowing the State to introduce such evidence and noted that it instructed the jury that it
    could only consider the defendant‟s prior record in regards to the charge of convicted
    felon in possession of a handgun and the court believed that the jury followed the court‟s
    -8-
    instruction. The record shows that the defendant failed to offer to stipulate that he was a
    convicted felon and, therefore, the probative value of the defendant‟s prior convictions
    outweighs the prejudicial effect due to the fact the convictions were an essential element
    of an offense the State had to prove. Furthermore, the trial court avoided any potential
    prejudice by issuing limiting jury instructions regarding any such proof, and the jury is
    presumed to follow the instructions of the court. See State v. Johnson, 
    401 S.W.3d 1
    , 22
    (Tenn. 2013). The defendant is not entitled to relief on this issue.
    II. Sufficiency
    The defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, arguing that the
    evidence is insufficient to establish his identity as the perpetrator of the offenses. In
    considering this issue, we apply the rule that where sufficiency of the convicting evidence
    is challenged, the relevant question of the reviewing court is “whether, after viewing the
    evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could
    have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v.
    Virginia, 
    443 U.S. 307
    , 319 (1979); see also Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e) (“Findings of guilt in
    criminal actions whether by the trial court or jury shall be set aside if the evidence is
    insufficient to support the findings by the trier of fact of guilt beyond a reasonable
    doubt.”); State v. Evans, 
    838 S.W.2d 185
    , 190-92 (Tenn. 1992); State v. Anderson, 
    835 S.W.2d 600
    , 604 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1992). The same standard applies whether the
    finding of guilt is predicated upon direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, or a
    combination of direct and circumstantial evidence. State v. Matthews, 
    805 S.W.2d 776
    ,
    779 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1990).
    A criminal offense may be established entirely by circumstantial evidence. State
    v. Majors, 
    318 S.W.3d 850
    , 857 (Tenn. 2010). It is for the jury to determine the weight
    to be given the circumstantial evidence and the extent to which the circumstances are
    consistent with the guilt of the defendant and inconsistent with his innocence. State v.
    James, 
    315 S.W.3d 440
    , 456 (Tenn. 2010). In addition, the State does not have the duty
    to exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except that of the defendant‟s guilt in order
    to obtain a conviction based solely on circumstantial evidence. See State v. Dorantes,
    
    331 S.W.3d 370
    , 380-81 (Tenn. 2011) (adopting the federal standard of review for cases
    in which the evidence is entirely circumstantial).
    All questions involving the credibility of witnesses, the weight and value to be
    given the evidence, and all factual issues are resolved by the trier of fact. See State v.
    Pappas, 
    754 S.W.2d 620
    , 623 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1987). “A guilty verdict by the jury,
    approved by the trial judge, accredits the testimony of the witnesses for the State and
    resolves all conflicts in favor of the theory of the State.” State v. Grace, 
    493 S.W.2d 474
    ,
    476 (Tenn. 1973). Our supreme court stated the rationale for this rule:
    -9-
    This well-settled rule rests on a sound foundation. The trial judge
    and the jury see the witnesses face to face, hear their testimony and observe
    their demeanor on the stand. Thus the trial judge and jury are the primary
    instrumentality of justice to determine the weight and credibility to be
    given to the testimony of witnesses. In the trial forum alone is there human
    atmosphere and the totality of the evidence cannot be reproduced with a
    written record in this Court.
    Bolin v. State, 
    405 S.W.2d 768
    , 771 (1966) (citing Carroll v. State, 
    370 S.W.2d 523
    (1963)). “A jury conviction removes the presumption of innocence with which a
    defendant is initially cloaked and replaces it with one of guilt, so that on appeal a
    convicted defendant has the burden of demonstrating that the evidence is insufficient.”
    State v. Tuggle, 
    639 S.W.2d 913
    , 914 (Tenn. 1982).
    Again, the defendant does not allege that the offenses of which he was convicted
    were not committed. He only challenges the evidence of his identity as the perpetrator.
    However, the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator of the offense is a question of
    fact for the jury. State v. Strickland, 
    885 S.W.2d 85
    , 87 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1993). The
    identification testimony of the victim is sufficient, alone, to support a conviction. 
    Id. Here, viewed
    in the light most favorable to the State, the evidence shows that the
    defendant was one of the perpetrators of the offenses. An eyewitness, Fazil Rahman,
    identified the defendant as the shooter, and the defendant was connected with Mr. Rogers
    from the initial scene.
    Dhaiban Mohammed recalled that two men in a silver car approached him at the
    service station at the corner of Hollywood and Poplar on the night of the incident,
    offering him drugs and prostitutes. After he declined and left the service station, the
    same two men passed him on the road and stopped in front of him at the stop sign. The
    men held Mr. Mohammed‟s car at gunpoint, robbed them, and started shooting at his car
    when he tried to drive away from the scene. Mr. Mohammed identified the co-defendant,
    Calvin Rogers, from a photographic array.
    Fazil Rahman testified that he saw two men in a silver Honda talking to Mr.
    Mohammed at the service station. He described the driver as being bald, wearing a white
    tee shirt, and holding a puppy on a leash. He identified the defendant as the passenger
    and said that he had dreadlocks and a “heavy” mustache. Mr. Rahman testified that, after
    leaving the service station, the same two men cut off Mr. Mohammed‟s car at a stop sign,
    held him and his friends at gunpoint, demanded money, and then fired numerous shots at
    Mr. Mohammed‟s car as Mr. Mohammed drove away. Mr. Rahman subsequently
    identified the defendant from a photographic array, on which he wrote: “I don‟t know
    -10-
    him and I don‟t know his name. He robbed us and he shot us and he was [o]n the right
    side of the car on passenger right side.” Mr. Rahman said that he was 100% sure of his
    identification of the defendant and that he recalled the defendant‟s face from the service
    station and when he stood on Mr. Rahman‟s side of the car trying to rob them.
    Vernadette Neeley, the service station clerk and Mr. Rogers‟ former girlfriend,
    corroborated Mr. Rahman‟s description of the defendant and connected him to Mr.
    Rogers at the initial scene. She saw Mr. Rogers walk to his car, after he brought her a
    puppy, where a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and a thick mustache was sitting.
    Viewed in the light most favorable to the State, the evidence is sufficient for a
    rational trier of fact to find that the defendant committed the charged offenses.
    CONCLUSION
    Based on the foregoing authorities and reasoning, we affirm the judgments of the
    trial court.
    _________________________________
    ALAN E. GLENN, JUDGE
    -11-