THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State,        Respondent,

v.

Alonzo Portwood,        Appellant.

Appeal From Sumter County
Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No.  2003-UP-508
Submitted June 9, 2003 – Filed August 27, 2003

APPEAL DISMISSED

Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, Cecil Kelley Jackson, Third Circuit Solicitor's Office, of Sumter, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Alonso Portwood appeals his convictions for voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, arguing that the trial judge failed to grant a directed verdict because his co-defendant, not he, shot the victim.  Portwood’s counsel attached to the brief a petition to be relieved as counsel, stating that he had reviewed the record and concluded this appeal lacks merit.  Portwood filed a separate pro se brief, arguing the trial judge erred in failing to grant his motion for a new trial.  After a thorough review of the record, Portwood’s pro se brief, and counsel’s brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and State v. Williams, 305 S.C. 116, 406 S.E.2d 357 (1991), we dismiss [1] Portwood’s appeal and grant counsel’s motion to be relieved.

APPEAL DISMISSED.

HEARN, C.J., CONNOR and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.