The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the felony murder convictions of Lewis Shells and Marcus Leslie on Monday, rejecting their appeals in a complex case involving multiple defendants charged in connection with two November 2016 robberies that left one person dead.
Justice McMillian wrote the opinion in the consolidated appeals, which stemmed from crimes that occurred on Nov. 26, 2016. The court's decision, announced Feb. 3, 2026, upheld convictions for felony murder and numerous other charges related to what prosecutors characterized as home invasion and burglary incidents.
Shells and Leslie were among five defendants indicted by a Troup County grand jury in February 2017. The other defendants included Jarvis Duncan, Lee Fair, and Gerald Florence. All faced charges both individually and as parties to the crimes.
The extensive indictment included 22 counts spanning multiple felony murder charges, home invasion, burglary in the first degree, aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and theft by taking. The charges involved multiple victims, including the deceased Darius Tucker, as well as Zermezeon Heard, Adrian Tucker, David Rhodes, and Deanna Cameron.
According to the court documents, the prosecution alleged that the defendants committed felony murder predicated on home invasion, burglary in the first degree, and aggravated assault of Tucker. The charges suggest the crimes involved two separate robbery incidents, with the fatal shooting of Darius Tucker occurring during one of the incidents.
The prosecution also alleged that Rhodes and Cameron were victims of armed robbery, kidnapping, and false imprisonment during what appears to have been a separate but related criminal episode. Both victims were also allegedly subjected to aggravated assault and had property stolen from them.
On appeal, Shells challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. This type of challenge requires appellate courts to review whether a reasonable jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt based on the evidence presented at trial.
Leslie raised different arguments on appeal, focusing on procedural violations that he claimed violated his due process rights. Specifically, Leslie argued that the trial court conducted his arraignment without his presence or waiver, which he contended was a fundamental violation of his constitutional rights to be present at critical stages of his prosecution.
Leslie also claimed that the trial court abused its discretion, though the specific nature of this claim was not detailed in the available portion of the opinion. Trial court discretion challenges typically involve allegations that a judge made improper evidentiary rulings, sentencing decisions, or other procedural determinations that exceeded the bounds of reasonable judicial authority.
The Georgia Supreme Court's decision to affirm both convictions indicates that the justices found the evidence sufficient to support the jury's guilty verdicts and that any procedural errors either did not occur or were not prejudicial enough to warrant reversal.
Felony murder charges in Georgia allow prosecutors to pursue murder convictions when a death occurs during the commission of certain underlying felonies, even if the defendant did not specifically intend to kill the victim. In this case, the prosecution appears to have proceeded on multiple theories of felony murder, including home invasion, burglary, and aggravated assault as the predicate felonies.
The multiple firearm possession charges suggest that weapons played a central role in both robbery incidents. Georgia law provides enhanced penalties for crimes committed with firearms, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony carries additional mandatory minimum sentences.
The case reflects the serious nature of violent crimes involving multiple defendants and multiple victims. The extensive list of charges indicates that prosecutors viewed this as a crime spree involving coordinated criminal activity across multiple locations or time periods.
The Supreme Court of Georgia's decision comes nearly a decade after the original crimes occurred, illustrating the lengthy appellate process that often accompanies serious felony cases. The court's affirmance means that both Shells and Leslie will continue serving their sentences unless they pursue further appellate remedies or post-conviction relief.
The opinion includes the standard notice that it remains subject to modification through motions for reconsideration or editorial revisions, with the final version to be published in the Georgia Reports advance sheets and bound volumes.
The consolidation of the two appeals into a single opinion suggests that Shells and Leslie raised similar or related legal arguments, allowing the court to address their challenges efficiently in one comprehensive ruling.