Anderson v. State

── Anderson v. State ── Court: Supreme Court of Georgia Date: June 02, 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. S26A0177 De’Monte Anderson v. The State On Appeal from the Superior Court of DeKalb County No. 20CR143810 Decided: June 2, 2026 LAND, Justice. Appellant De’Monte Anderson challenges his 2022 convic- tions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Dwayne Roberts. 1 Anderson argues that his 1 Roberts was killed on October 20, 2019. On February 13, 2020, a DeK- alb County grand jury indicted Anderson for malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with Roberts’s death, and for battery of his girlfriend, Des- tiny Head. On September 26, 2022, the trial court entered a nolle prosequi order for the battery count. At a trial from September 26 to 29, 2022, the jury found Anderson guilty of all remaining charges. The trial court sentenced An- derson to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole for malice murder and a consecutive term of 5 years in prison for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The felony murder count was vacated by operation of law and the aggravated assault count merged with the malice murder count for sentencing purposes. On October 10, 2022, Anderson filed a motion for new trial, which was subsequently amended. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on April 7, 2025, and entered a written order denying Anderson’s mo- tion for new trial on April 8, 2025. On May 2, 2025, Anderson filed a notice of appeal. The case was docketed to this Court’s term beginning in December 2025 and submitted for a decision on the briefs. trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to object to two jury instructions. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. The evidence presented at trial showed as follows. In Oc- tober 2019, Anderson 2 and his girlfriend, Destiny Head, lived to- gether in an apartment. On October 19, 2019, Head drove with her cousin and sister to a friend’s house, purchased and drank some wine, dropped her cousin and friend back off at their respec- tive homes, and then went alone to a party at different friend’s house. While at the party, Head became intoxicated and passed out around 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. When Head woke up around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., she saw that she had between 15 to 20 missed calls from Anderson, along with several angry text messages from An- derson. Head prepared to leave, but she learned that her car had been damaged, became upset, and got into a fight with a woman at the party and “messed up” her arm. Head then left the party and decided to go to the hospital for her arm injury. Head tried to call Anderson multiple times, but he did not answer, and she be- gan to drive to the hospital. After Head stopped at a store and unsuccessfully tried calling Anderson again, she spoke with a r