Copeland v. State

Fletcher, Presiding Justice.

A jury convicted Benne Copeland of malice and felony murder in the shooting death of Brian Cobb. Copeland appeals contending that the admission of hearsay statements of a co-defendant violated his right of confrontation under the United States Constitution. Because there were sufficient indicia of reliability of the statements, we affirm.

The evidence at trial showed that on Superbowl Sunday, January 30, 1994, Copeland, who owned a blue Cadillac, picked up the victim Brian Cobb at his house. Cobb’s grandmother saw him leave with someone driving a blue Cadillac like…