Patterson v. State

BENHAM, Justice.

Appellant Phillip Earl Patterson was convicted in 1987 of the malice murder and armed robbery of Bruce Keeter, an assistant manager of a fast-food restaurant in Columbus, Georgia, and the theft by taking of the victim’s automobile.1

1. The State presented evidence that the victim died as a result of a bullet that struck him behind the right ear, traversed his brain, and lodged in his left temple. He was killed between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on September 14, 1987, and $373 and a zipped bank bag were missing from the restaurant. Several miles away from the restaurant, the…