Lara v. State

Beasley, Chief Judge.

Lara appeals his conviction for aggravated battery (OCGA § 16-5-24 (a)) for shooting a stranger in the head and blinding his left eye. The State’s evidence showed the following. Around midnight a fight broke out between two groups in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Lara, a member of one of the groups, arrived at the scene and voluntarily entered the fray. Even though he had ample opportunity to leave, Lara chose instead to take what he knew to be a loaded gun away from his friend, walk into the fighting group, and fire the weapon. The victim, a member of the…