From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Palmer v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Nov 1, 1993
437 S.E.2d 490 (Ga. Ct. App. 1993)

Opinion

A93A1550.

DECIDED NOVEMBER 1, 1993.

Drug violation. Evans Superior Court. Before Judge Harvey.

Hal T. Peel, for appellant.

Dupont K. Cheney, District Attorney, John T. Durden, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.


Defendant was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Because he was previously convicted of selling cocaine, he was sentenced to life pursuant to OCGA § 16-13-30 (d).

In his sole enumeration of error, defendant contends the evidence was insufficient to establish his intent to distribute. The evidence showed that defendant was in possession of nine rocks of crack cocaine and was not in possession of any smoking device. And, contrary to defendant's claim that he was smoking the crack and intended to smoke all the rocks himself, two officers testified that defendant did not appear to be under the influence of cocaine at the time of his arrest. Moreover, the State produced an expert in the field of narcotics investigation who opined that someone with that amount of crack cocaine broken up into rocks of that size had it for the purpose of distributing it. See Davis v. State, 200 Ga. App. 44 (2) ( 406 S.E.2d 555) (1991). Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, this evidence was sufficient to allow a rational jury to find defendant guilty of possession with intent to distribute beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560) (1979).

Judgment affirmed. Birdsong, P. J., and Andrews, J., concur.

DECIDED NOVEMBER 1, 1993.


Summaries of

Palmer v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Nov 1, 1993
437 S.E.2d 490 (Ga. Ct. App. 1993)
Case details for

Palmer v. State

Case Details

Full title:PALMER v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Nov 1, 1993

Citations

437 S.E.2d 490 (Ga. Ct. App. 1993)
437 S.E.2d 490

Citing Cases

Thomas v. State

Several facts in particular weigh against his theory of personal use: the number of pieces of crack cocaine…

Taylor v. State

However, the evidence reveals that Taylor was carrying 18 bags of marijuana in her purse, an amount…