Thomas v. State

Edward Lee Thomas was convicted of assault in the first degree and sentenced to life imprisonment as a habitual felony offender. He raises two issues on this appeal from that conviction.

I

Thomas shot Jimmy C. Martin, the chief of police for the city of Union Springs with an "automatic pistol" in an exchange of gunfire after having fired a "high powered rifle" in the Bullock County Sheriff's Office on December 19, 1988. The chief was hit in his side and testified that the bullet went all the way through his side exiting one-half inch from his spine. The chief stated that initially he "wasn't…