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Final Copy 288 Ga. 641

S10A1841. WARD v. THE STATE. S11A0033. KILGORE v. THE STATE. THOMPSON, Justice. Appellants James Ward and Jonathan Kilgore were jointly charged and tried for the malice murder of John Reid and the aggravated assault of Jarvis Winder, as well as various related offenses. A jury found both appellants guilty as charged. They filed separate appeals which were consolidated by the Court.1 Because the trial court excused a juror during ex parte
The crimes were committed on February 2, 2003. On March 23, 2004, a Fulton County grand jury returned a multi-count indictment charging Ward and Kilgore with malice murder, two counts of felony murder, burglary, two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Trial commenced on May 19, 2006, and concluded on May 23, 2006, with the jury's return of guilty verdicts on all counts. Both defendants were sentenced on May 23, 2006. Ward received life imprisonment for malice murder, twenty consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated assault, five consecutive years for possession of a firearm in the commission of a burglary, and ten concurrent years for conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Kilgore was sentenced to life imprisonment for malice murder, twenty consecutive years for aggravated assault, ten consecutive years for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, ten additional concurrent years for conspiracy, and ten consecutive years for firearms possession. The remaining counts were either merged or vacated by operation of law. See Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (434 SE2d 479) (1993). Ward's motion for new trial was filed on May 26, 2006, amended on May 7, 2008, and denied on March 30, 2010. He filed a notice of appeal on April 20, 2010. The appeal was docketed during the September 2010 term of this Court. Kilgore's motion for new trial was filed on May 30, 2006, amended on September 5, 2008 and September 22, 2008, and denied on March 30, 2010. A notice of appeal was filed on April 12, 2010, and his appeal was docketed in the January 2011 term of this Court. Oral argument in both cases was heard on February 15, 2011.
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proceedings in the absence of appellants and without appellants' knowledge or consent, we reverse and remand for a new trial. Kilgore, Ward, and co-indictee Devoka Finch2 plotted to rob Reid, a known drug dealer. Both Kilgore and Ward were armed with handguns, and the three drove to Reid's home ostensibly to purchase marijuana. Reid's friend, Winder, was also present at the house. Kilgore rang the back doorbell, and Reid let him in, while the two accomplices concealed themselves outside. Reid walked to a back bedroom and when he returned, gunfire erupted. Reid and Winder retreated to a back room where Reid collapsed and died of a gunshot wound to the back. Winder obtained a shotgun from the bedroom and returned to the front of the house where he and Kilgore exchanged gunfire. Winder escaped to a neighbor's house, and the police were called. Ward and Kilgore fled by car. Finch remained in the area and was stopped and arrested near the crime scene by police officers who responded to the 911 call. Finch was wearing a bullet-proof vest and was carrying

Finch entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter and testified at trial against Ward and Kilgore. 2

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handcuffs. He was taken to the police station where he waived his Miranda rights and told the investigating officers that he, Ward, and Kilgore went to Reid's home for the purpose of committing an armed robbery; both Ward and Kilgore were armed with handguns; and Ward shot repeatedly at the victim. Winder was also interviewed at the police station that evening. While there, he observed Finch and identified him as one of the perpetrators. Winder also identified Kilgore in a subsequent photographic lineup. Kilgore returned home to his apartment after the shooting. He had Ward's blood on his clothing and was armed with a .22 caliber handgun. He showed the gun to a woman sharing his apartment and told her he had shot a man five times in the back, and that, in the melee, Ward had been shot. Later that evening, using a fictitious name, Ward received treatment at Grady Hospital for multiple shotgun wounds. 1. Appellants contend that their convictions cannot stand because they are based on the uncorroborated testimony of Finch, their accomplice. The rule is well established that, to sustain a conviction in a felony case upon the testimony of an accomplice, there must be corroborating facts or circumstances, which, in themselves and independently of the testimony of the accomplice, directly connect the defendant with the crime, or lead to the inference that
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[he] is guilty, and more than sufficient to merely cast on the defendant a grave suspicion of guilt. . . . Slight evidence from an extraneous source identifying the accused as a participant in the criminal act is sufficient corroboration of the accomplice to support a verdict. [Cit.] See also OCGA

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