AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld two local murder convictions.

Christopher Berry had appealed his convictions in Richmond County for malice murder and other crimes related to the shooting death of Cordeldrick Laquinn Brooks in 2015. Berry had argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict and his attorney was ineffective for failing to object to hearsay.

Meanwhile, Quame Lamar Collins had appealed his Burke County convictions in the 2017 armed robbery of three men, resulting in the deaths of Eddie Louis Grubbs and Marshall Jordan and injuries to Walter Smith. Collins had argued evidence was insufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, that the trial court erred by not granting his request for a mistrial and that the trial court erred by admitting certain hearsay statements.

Berry’s conviction came in connection with the Sept, 22, 2015, shooting death of Brooks. According to authorities, Brooks was driving Berry to get some “weed” after an apparently hostile interaction. During the drive, Berry made Brooks strip, then put his clothes back on minus his boxers, shoes and socks. At Lumpkin and Old McDuffie roads, Brooks slammed the car into a utility pole and tried to run away, but was gunned down.

Collins was accused in the Jan. 23, 2017, robbery of Grubbs at a mobile home where Grubbs lived. Authorities say Collins and another person knocked on the home’s door and then when they were let in, they went to a back room – an addition where Grubbs played dominos – and started shooting.