Smith v. State

── Smith v. State ── Court: Supreme Court of Georgia Date: April 21, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: This opinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court Rule 27, the Court’s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any prior version on the Court’s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and official text of the opinion. In the Supreme Court of Georgia No. S26A0140 Alex Khalil Smith v. The State On Appeal from the Superior Court of Newton County No. 2020-SU-CR-000895-3 Decided: April 21, 2026 LAND, Justice. Alex Khalil Smith appeals his 2022 convictions for malice murder and related charges stemming from the shooting death of Cassandra Arnold. 1 On appeal, Smith argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court failed to exercise its discretion to grant a new trial pursuant to 1 The crimes took place on July 8, 2020. On October 14, 2020, a Newton County grand jury indicted Smith for malice murder (Count 1), felony murder (Count 2), aggravated assault (Count 3), and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (Count 4). After a jury trial, Smith was found guilty of all charges. The trial court sentenced Smith to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole for Count 1 and five years for Count 4 (to be served consecutive to Count 1). Count 2 was vacated as a matter of law, and Count 3 was merged into Count 1 for sentenc- ing purposes. Smith filed a timely motion for new trial on September 19, 2022, and amended that motion on September 22, 2023. After a hearing, the trial court denied the amended motion for new trial, and Smith filed a timely notice of appeal on November 7, 2024. The appeal was docketed to the term of this Court beginning in December 2025 and submitted for a decision on the briefs. OCGA §§ 5-5-20 and 5-5-21 (the “general grounds”). For the rea- sons that follow, we affirm in part and vacate in part the trial court’s order denying Smith’s motion for new trial, and we re- mand the case to the trial court with direction that it exercise its discretion under the general grounds and issue an order reflecting its ruling with respect to those grounds. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the ev- idence presented at trial showed as follows. On July 7, 2020, Smith contacted Arnold to purchase methamphetamine. Arnold arranged to purchase the meth for Smith from Kenneth Cavender. Smith wanted to buy an ounce of meth, but Arnold only had enough money to purchase 20 grams from Cavender. Be- tween 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on July 7, Arnold arrived at Cavender’s house to purchase the meth in a pickup truck with Smith. While Smith waited outside, Arnold purchased the meth from Cavender and added “flex” (a filler material which Cavender testified might have been rock salt) so that Smith would believe he was getting a full ounce. In other words, Arnold tricked Smith into believing he was getting more meth than he actually was. Cavender then went outside and Smith introduced himself and gave Cavender his number so that he could purchase meth from Cavender directly in the future. The next day, Smith called Cavender and left him a voicemail saying that “somebody’s going to fix this shit” and that the money he used to purchase the met