Supreme Court of Georgia, (September 25, 1995)
Docket number: S95A1128
DECIDED
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Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.

U.S. Supreme Court - Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979)
Supreme Court of Georgia - BROWN v. THE STATE., 262 Ga. 833, 426 S.E.2.d 559
Supreme Court of Georgia - CARROLL v. THE STATE., 261 Ga. 553, 408 S.E.2.d 412 (1991)
Supreme Court of Georgia - JOHNSON v. THE STATE., 258 Ga. 506, 371 S.E.2.d 396
Supreme Court of Georgia - BROWN et al. v. THE STATE., 250 Ga. 862, 302 S.E.2.d 347 (1983)
Supreme Court of Georgia - BLANKENSHIP v. THE STATE., 247 Ga. 590, 277 S.E.2.d 505
Supreme Court of Georgia - MOSES v. THE STATE., 245 Ga. 180, 263 S.E.2.d 916 (1980)
Supreme Court of Georgia - PHELPS v. THE STATE., 245 Ga. 338, 265 S.E.2.d 53
Supreme Court of Georgia - JOHNS v. THE STATE., 239 Ga. 681, 238 S.E.2.d 372 (1977)
Georgia Court Of Appeals - Martin v. The State., 246 Ga. App. 708, 541 S.E.2d 692 (2000)
Supreme Court of Georgia - BROOKS v. THE STATE., 271 Ga. 456, 519 S.E.2.d 907 (1999)
Supreme Court of Georgia - HAYES v. THE STATE., 268 Ga. 809, 493 S.E.2.d 169
Supreme Court of Georgia - LARRY v. THE STATE., 266 Ga. 284, 466 S.E.2.d 850 (1996)
Supreme Court of Georgia - PETERSON v. THE STATE., 274 Ga. 165, 549 S.E.2.d 387 (2001)
Supreme Court of Georgia - RHODE v. THE STATE., 274 Ga. 377, 552 S.E.2.d 855
Supreme Court of Georgia - LUCAS v. THE STATE., 274 Ga. 640, 555 S.E.2.d 440 (2001)
Stanley C. House, for appellant.
Carlos Myron Woods was convicted of felony murder while in the commission of an aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of murder for the shooting death of Timothy Brian Huckabee. [1] The evidence at trial, considered in the light most favorable to the verdict, showed that Huckabee was fatally shot by Woods when Huckabee and his friend, May, went to make a cocaine buy from Woods and a juvenile, Thomas, and fled the sellers in an attempt to avoid paying for the drugs.Initially, Woods was identified as a witness to the incident. He was interviewed by police and gave two recorded statements indicating that he was with Thomas at the time of the incident and that another man, Landers, did the shooting. Thomas was brought in for questioning. He implicated himself and Woods, identifying Woods as the shooter. Woods was questioned again and gave a third recorded statement in which he admitted that he and Thomas were the men in the drug deal and that he (Woods) fired the shots at the victim. Woods also stated that he sold the nine millimeter handgun used in the shooting.1. Two photographic lineups shown to May on the night of the shooting were admitted in evidence over Woods' objection. The first, State's Exhibit 35, contained Landers' photograph; the second, State's Exhibit 36, included a photograph of Woods. May testified that he did not remember seeing Exhibit 35 and that when he was shown Exhibit 36, he told the investigator he could not identify anyone. Later in the trial, the investigator testified that May had not recognized anyone in the first lineup, but in the second recognized Woods even though May was not sure that Woods was the shooter. Woods contends that the lineups were irrelevant and therefore inadmissible because May did not identify anyone as the assailant. He does not challenge the testimony regarding the lineups nor did he do so during trial.At trial, Woods denied involvement in the drug deal and claimed Landers fired the shots. Thomas, who had pled guilty in juvenile court to being a party to the murder, testified that he and Woods were not involved in the drug deal or the shooting and were merely walking by when the victim was dealing with Landers and another man. Therefore, the question of identity of the shooter was at the heart of the case and the lineups were relevant and material evidence on this issue. It was for the jury to determine whether or not the eyewitness had recognized Woods in the second lineup, and if so, whether the recognition was because Woods was the drug dealer and fired the fatal shots.2. Woods contends that his statements were inadmissible because they were products of his warrantless, and thus, illegal arrest. The evidence does not support a finding that Woods was in custody when he made the first two statements. Even accepting that he was at the time of the third, there was then probable cause sufficient to support a warrantless arrest. See Johnson v. State,