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Final Copy 287 Ga. 586 S10A0383. HIGHTOWER v. THE STATE. S10A0589. JOHNSON v. THE STATE. Hines, Justice. These appeals arise from a joint trial stemming from the fatal shooting of Travis Harris and the pistol beating of Marvin Thurman. In Case No. S10A0383, Ricardel Hightower appeals his convictions for malice murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault; in Case No. S10A0589, Roderick Johnson appeals his convictions for the same offenses. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.1 Construed to support the verdicts, the evidence showed that the apartment of Sammy Green in Albany, Georgia was used as a gambling house. On

The crimes occurred in the early hours of December 8, 2002. On April 12, 2006, a Dougherty County grand jury returned an indictment charging Richard Zackery, Ricardel Hightower, Roderick Johnson, and Abe Brown with: Count 1 - burglary; Count 2 - armed robbery; Count 3 - the aggravated assault of Marvin Thurman; Count 4 - the aggravated assault of Travis Harris; Count 5 - the malice murder of Travis Harris; and County 6 - the felony murder of Travis Harris. Zackery, Hightower, and Johnson were tried jointly before a jury May 8-15, 2006, and all were found guilty of Counts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; prior to trial, an order of nolle prosequi was entered on Count 1. Each of the three men was sentenced as a recidivist to life in prison without parole on Count 5; life in prison on Count 2, to be served concurrently with the sentence on Count 5; and 20 years in prison on Count 3, to be served concurrently with the sentence on Count 5. As to each man, the trial court found that Count 4 merged with Count 5 for the purpose of sentencing; Count 6 stood vacated by operation of law. Hightower filed a motion for new trial on June 13, 2006, and amended it on December 31, 2007; the motion was denied on October 8, 2008. On December 11, 2008, Hightower moved for an out-of-time appeal; the motion was granted on January 9, 2009, and Hightower filed his notice of appeal on January 26, 2009. His appeal was docketed in the January 2010 term of this Court, and submitted for decision on the briefs. Johnson's motion for new trial was denied on October 8, 2008, and he filed his notice of appeal on October 30, 2008. His appeal was docketed in the January 2010 term of this Court, and submitted for decision on the briefs. Zackery's appeal has previously been addressed by this Court. Zackery v. State, 286 Ga. 399 (688 SE2d 354) (2010).

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December 7, 2002, Zackery and Hightower were at the apartment at various times during the day, and that evening Hightower got into an argument with Travis Harris over some behavior while playing cards. Zackery broke up the argument. Hightower was gambling with Zackery's money, and he and Zackery became upset after losing a significant amount of it. Hightower and Zackery left the apartment around midnight and went to a nearby pool hall. There they met Roderick Johnson and Abe Brown, and the men agreed to go to Green's apartment and rob those inside. In the early morning hours, Zackery, Hightower, and Johnson went to Green's apartment; they were masked and armed with an AK-47 assault rifle purchased by Zackery. Harris, Sammy Green, Anthony Green, Thurman, and Jerry Turner were at the apartment at that time. Thurman and Harris were standing outside the front door when the three armed masked men approached. Harris ran and Zackery fired the AK-47 at him, fatally wounding him. Thurman was struck with a pistol and forced inside the apartment, where he, Anthony Green, and Turner were robbed; Sammy Green hid in the bathroom during the robbery. See Zackery v. State, 286 Ga. 399 (688 SE2d 354) (2010). Case No. S10A0383

1. Hightower asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, contending that the State presented only circumstantial evidence that did not exclude all reasonable hypotheses except that of his guilt. See OCGA

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