State v. Cooper

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Wayne Darnell Cooper, Appellant.

Appeal From Sumter County
 Howard P. King, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-544
Submitted December 1, 2011 Filed December 6, 2011

AFFIRMED

Senior Appellate Defender Joseph L. Savitz III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott, and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Alphonso Simon, Jr., all of Columbia; and Solicitor Ernest A. Finney III, of Sumter, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Wayne Darnell Cooper appeals his conviction for murder, arguing the circuit court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense.  We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following authorities:  State v. Wigington, 375 S.C. 25, 31, 649 S.E.2d 185, 188 (Ct. App. 2007) ("If there is any evidence of record from which it can be reasonably inferred that an accused justifiably inflicted a wound in self-defense, then the accused is entitled to a charge on the law of self-defense."); State v. Bixby, 388 S.C. 528, 553-54, 698 S.E.2d 572, 585-86 (2010) (holding the fourth element of self-defense is that "the defendant had no other probable means of avoiding the danger of losing his own life or sustaining serious bodily injury than to act as he did in this particular instance"); State v. Lockamy, 369 S.C. 378, 383-84, 631 S.E.2d 555, 558 (Ct. App. 2006) (holding that when an accused's testimony reveals that he "was no longer in danger when he fired the [fatal] shot" then a charge of self-defense is not warranted).

AFFIRMED.

FEW, C.J., THOMAS and KONDUROS, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.