Bryant v. State

── Bryant v. State ── Court: Supreme Court of Georgia Date: May 05, 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. S26A0097 Johnnie Bryant v. The State On Appeal from the Superior Court of Harris County No. 22CR149 Decided: May 5, 2026 COLVIN, Justice. Appellant Johnnie Bryant appeals his convictions for the malice murder of Dylan Eldridge, the aggravated assaults of James Blackmon and Willie Feggins, and related crimes arising from the same incident. 1 On appeal, Bryant contends that the ev- idence was insufficient as a matter of constitutional due process 1 The crimes occurred on November 1, 2021. On July 19, 2022, a Harris County grand jury returned an indictment charging Bryant with malice mur- der (Count 1), felony murder (Count 2), aggravated assault of Eldridge (Count 3), aggravated assault of Feggins and Blackmon (Counts 4 and 5), and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (Counts 6, 7, and 8). Bryant was tried by a jury in June 2023 and found guilty on all counts. The trial court sentenced Bryant to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder (Count 1) and purported to merge Bryant’s felony murder count (Count 2) into Count 1. The trial court also entered consecutive sentences of 20 years each for Bryant’s aggravated assaults of Eldridge, Feg- gins, and Blackmon (Counts 3, 4, and 5), and consecutive sentences of five years each for Bryant’s three charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (Counts 6, 7, and 8), for a total sentence of life in prison to support his convictions; that the State failed to disprove his defense of justification beyond a reasonable doubt; that he is en- titled to a new trial on the “general grounds” provided in OCGA §§ 5-5-20 and 5-5-21; that the trial court plainly erred by admit- ting Eldridge’s autopsy photos; that the trial court plainly erred by allowing the State to “badger” a witness for the defense during cross-examination; that he received constitutionally ineffective assistance from his trial counsel in several ways; and that the prosecutor improperly expressed his personal belief that Bryant was guilty during the State’s closing argument. These arguments fail. We therefore affirm Bryant’s convictions for malice murder, aggravated assault against Feggins, aggravated assault against Blackmon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. But because Bryant’s conviction for aggravated assault against Eldridge should have merged into his malice murder con- viction, we vacate his conviction and sentence for that offense, as explained further below. We also take this opportunity to correct a separate sentencing error regarding his felony murder convic- tion. 1. The evidence at trial showed the following. Bryant and his wife, Ruby Bryant, were engaged in a property dispute with Eldridge concerning four parcels of land on the east side of Sunny- side Church Road, w