Appellant Convicted of Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault in Fatal Barbecue Altercation

Merrick Redding has been convicted of felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with the death of Joseph Davis, following an argument at a barbecue in Columbus, Georgia. The incident occurred when Redding arrived uninvited at the gathering, and during a confrontation with Davis, he struck him with a closed fist on the left side of the head. The force of the blow caused Davis to fall and slump against a truck, bleeding from his ear. Medical evidence confirmed that the head injury led to Davis’s death.

Two witnesses, Jason Bellamy and Debbie Render, testified that during the altercation, Davis attempted to defuse the situation by telling Redding to “leave me alone” and questioning him, asking something akin to “do you think I’m a p***y?” Bellamy also observed Davis waving his hand as if signaling Redding to leave, but neither witness saw any physical provocation from Davis towards Redding before the strike occurred. The witnesses both testified that Redding’s punch caused Davis to collapse.

At trial, the prosecution sought to impeach Redding’s testimony with evidence of three felony convictions: a 2015 Habitual Violator conviction, and two 2007 and 2009 Obstruction of an Officer convictions. The trial court ruled that the probative value of these convictions outweighed any prejudicial effect, admitting them under Rule 609 (a) (1). During cross-examination, Redding admitted to the prior convictions and stated that he had “served [his] time, [his] punishment.”

Redding appealed, arguing that the trial court failed to properly balance the probative value against the prejudicial effect when admitting the prior convictions. However, the Court found that the trial court had made an on-the-record finding that the probative value of the convictions outweighed their prejudicial effect, which met the requirements of Rule 609. The Court also addressed the 2007 conviction, noting that the record was unclear regarding whether it had been over ten years since Redding’s release. Assuming an error in admitting the 2007 conviction, the Court concluded that the error was harmless, given the strength of the evidence against Redding.

Additionally, Redding contended that the trial court wrongly admitted other-acts evidence under Rule 404 (b), specifically relating to his prior obstruction convictions. The court ruled that this evidence was admissible for showing intent, plan, and to refute Redding’s claims of self-defense. The Court acknowledged that while doubts remained about the admissibility of the other-acts evidence, any error was deemed harmless, given the strong case against Redding and his weak self-defense claim. The Court noted that Redding’s own testimony minimized the effect of the other-acts evidence, as he had already admitted to hitting Davis after minimal provocation.

Ultimately, the Court upheld the conviction, concluding that any errors made during the trial did not contribute to the verdict. The case was closely examined, and on October 1, 2024, the Court concluded that the evidence against Redding was sufficient for his conviction of felony murder and aggravated assault.