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Final Copy 287 Ga. 670 S10A0173. BELL v. THE STATE. NAHMIAS, Justice. Willie Bell appeals from his convictions by a Mitchell County jury of malice murder, armed robbery, and burglary arising from the stabbing death of 79-year-old James Marvin Crosson.1 Bell contends, among other things, that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for armed robbery and burglary. We agree that the evidence is insufficient to support those

convictions, but we find no merit to Bell's other contentions and affirm his conviction for malice murder. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence at On the morning of June 25, 2001, Crosson's

trial showed as follows.

housekeeper arrived at his apartment. The front door was not locked, and when she pushed it open, she saw Crosson lying on the floor. Emergency medical

Bell committed these crimes on June 24, 2001. He was indicted on January 3, 2002, and was found guilty by the jury on April 23, 2003. The trial court sentenced Bell to life in prison for malice murder, life in prison for armed robbery, and 20 years in prison for burglary, all running concurrently to each other but consecutive to a sentence Bell was already serving for a previous murder conviction. Bell filed a motion for new trial on May 14, 2003, which was amended on September 5, 2006, and February 27, 2008. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on February 4, 2009, and denied the motion on September 18, 2009. Bell's timely appeal was docketed in this Court for the January 2010 Term, and the case was subsequently submitted for decision on the briefs.

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personnel soon arrived and determined that Crosson was dead. He had been stabbed numerous times in the chest, with two of the stab wounds being fatal; the wounds were consistent with having been caused by a pocketknife. There was no sign of forced entry into the residence. Crosson was holding a telephone in his hand when he died, and telephone records showed that, at 10:12 p.m. on June 24, he dialed "0," but the call never connected. Crosson's front and back pockets had been turned inside out and no wallet was found in the pockets. Bell's girlfriend, Sarah Perry, who was still close to him at the time of trial, testified that in the afternoon of June 24, she and Bell were driving around when they saw Crosson outside his apartment. Bell knew Crosson because his father had worked for Crosson for 11 years, and he asked Crosson if he could borrow a quart of oil for Perry's car. After getting the oil, Bell and Perry left. They returned to the area of Crosson's apartment around 9:30 that night to visit Bell's aunt. Perry and Bell had an argument while they were driving, however, and she dropped Bell off close to Crosson's apartment so that they could both cool off. She drove around for a few minutes and then picked Bell up near where she had left him. 2

At trial, Perry denied that Bell had ever told her that he had stabbed someone, but she said that, when they were later discussing Crosson's death, he asked her if she had ever known or dated someone that would stab another person. She claimed that Bell made this statement in the context of the two of them trying to determine if they knew someone who may have killed Crosson. On cross-examination, Perry testified that, when Bell came back to the car, he did not have any blood on him, and she did not see him with any wallet or money. Perry denied telling police investigators a few months after the crime that Bell had told her he had stabbed somebody. However, a sheriff's office investigator testified that he interviewed Perry three times on October 29-30, 2001, and that Perry said that Bell told her he had stabbed somebody. The investigator also testified that Perry told him that she dropped Bell off near Crosson's home on the night of the crime about 10:15 to 10:30 p.m. Bell also talked about the murder with a long-time friend, Cavatina Almond. Bell explained to Almond that his father drove trucks for Crosson, that he had gotten into an argument with Crosson about money, and that he ended up stabbing Crosson with a pocketknife.

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A few months after Crosson was murdered, on October 27, 2001, Bell hitched a ride with Jermaine Williams and Arthur Brown. Brown was driving, Williams was in the passenger seat, and Bell was in the back seat. Halfway to their destination, Bell attacked Williams from behind, slashing his throat and stabbing him twice in the back. As Brown slowed down, Williams jumped out of the car and ran away as he heard Brown screaming for help. Bell stabbed Brown repeatedly in the chest, killing him, and then fled in the vehicle. Bell's bloody clothes were later found hidden in a culvert near his father's house, and boxer shorts with Brown's blood on them were found beside Bell's bed. On January 3, 2002, the grand jury handed down separate indictments charging Bell with both the June 24, 2001 crimes and the October 27, 2001 crimes. The Brown murder case was tried first, and the jury convicted Bell of murder, aggravated assault against Williams, and theft by taking of a motor vehicle. This Court affirmed those convictions before the trial of this case began. See Bell v. State, 276 Ga. 206 (576 SE2d 876) (2003). At the Crosson murder trial, over Bell's objection, the trial court permitted the State to present evidence of the October 27, 2001 crimes, including the verdict form from that trial, as similar transaction evidence. 4

(a)

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence

presented at trial and summarized above was sufficient to authorize a rational jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime of malice murder. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 319 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). See also Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32, 33 (673 SE2d 223) (2009) ("`It was for the jury to determine the credibility of the witnesses and to resolve any conflicts or inconsistencies in the evidence.'" (citation omitted)). Bell does not contend otherwise, but he does argue that the evidence was insufficient to support the armed robbery and burglary convictions. We agree. (b) The armed robbery count of the indictment charged that Bell,

"with the intent to commit a theft, [did] take a billfold, an undetermined amount of United States Currency, and a Citibank Mastercard issued by the Planters and Citizens Bank, the property of James Marvin Crosson, from the person of James Marvin Crosson, by use of an offensive weapon, to wit: a knife." See OCGA

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