State of Tennessee v. Qawi Nur, (a/k/a Darrius James)

Defendant, Qawi Nur, a/k/a/ Darrius James, was indicted on one count of first degree felony murder and one count of first degree premeditated murder. The State filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree felony murder in count one and second degree murder in count two. The trial court merged Defendant’s second degree murder conviction into his first degree felony murder conviction. The jury sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his first degree murder conviction. The sole issue raised on appeal challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.