Gates v. State

Melton, Justice.

Following a jury trial, Lamar Gates was found guilty of malice murder and various other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Anthony Wilson. On appeal, Gates contends, primarily, that the trial court erred in allowing certain evidence to be admitted at trial, including various text messages and “other act” evidence in violation of the rules set forth in Georgia’s new Evidence Code; 2 that the prosecutor engaged in prosecutorial misconduct in his closing argument; and that Gates’s trial counsel was ineffective. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

1. Viewed in…