COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Elder, Felton and Senior Judge Hodges 

Argued at Chesapeake, Virginia 

MARK LEE WARD 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY 

v. Record No. 1773-01-1 JUDGE WALTER S. FELTON, JR. 

 OCTOBER 15, 2002 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 

 FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH 

Johnny E. Morrison, Judge 

 Charles B. Lustig, Assistant Public Defender 

(Brenda C. Spry, Deputy Public Defender, on 

brief), for appellant. 

 Kathleen B. Martin, Assistant Attorney 

General (Jerry W. Kilgore, Attorney General, 

on brief), for appellee. 

 Mark Ward was convicted in a bench trial of possession with 

the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of Code 

§ 18.2-248, and felony obstruction of justice, in violation of 

Code § 18.2-460. On appeal, he contends that the evidence was 

insufficient to support the felony obstruction of justice 

conviction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. 

I. BACKGROUND

 On January 26, 2001, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Portsmouth 

Police Officer S.W. Johnson was conducting a narcotics 

surveillance operation at a Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing 

 

* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not 

designated for publication.
Authority property. Concealed from observation since 5:00 a.m. 

and employing binoculars to aid in the surveillance, he observed 

a white, four-door Chrysler with handicapped tags pull up in 

front of a residence. Officer Johnson had observed the vehicle 

in the area earlier that morning. 

 A person known to the police exited the back seat and 

entered the residence. A man and a woman subsequently 

approached the passenger side of the vehicle and began speaking 

with the passenger, later identified as Mark Ward. The man bent 

over and held out his hand toward Ward. Ward placed in his hand 

what appeared to be two rocks of cocaine. In return, the man 

handed him U.S. currency. The man placed the cocaine in his 

pocket and then walked off with the woman. 

 At that time, the back seat passenger returned to the 

vehicle and the car drove away. Officer Johnson radioed his 

observations to the arrest teams. Officer G.B. Smith and 

Officer Woodson were assigned to an arrest team and stopped the 

white Chrysler. Officer Smith, wearing his badge around his 

neck, his gunbelt, and a shirt marked "police," exited his 

vehicle and approached the passenger side of the Chrysler. As 

he approached, he saw Ward's hand go down to his lap, then to 

his mouth. When Officer Smith opened the passenger door he saw 

Ward chewing. Officer Smith did not see the actual item that 

Ward placed in his mouth. However, based on his police 

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experience, Officer Smith believed Ward was placing drugs into 

his mouth to prevent the police from recovering the evidence. 

 Officer Smith grabbed Ward and placed his hand on the back 

of Ward's jaw to prevent him from swallowing. He repeatedly 

told Ward to "spit it out," but he did not. Ward began 

struggling with Officer Smith, flailing his arms. During the 

struggle, he grabbed Officer Smith's badge and ripped it off 

from around his neck. Ward was subsequently removed from the 

vehicle at which time he exclaimed "I swallowed it, I swallowed 

it." He was handcuffed, placed in the police car, and 

transported to police headquarters. A search of Ward yielded 

thirty-nine dollars in cash. No drugs were found on his person. 

 Officer J.D. Stokes was also part of an arrest team. He 

arrested Eric Johnson who was observed with a woman buying 

cocaine from Ward. Upon stopping Johnson, two rocks of crack 

cocaine folded in a ten dollar bill were recovered. 

 In a bench trial conducted on April 23, 2001, Ward was 

convicted of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, 

in violation of Code § 18.2-248, and obstruction of justice, in 

violation of Code § 18.2-460. Ward appeals the obstruction of 

justice conviction. 

II. ANALYSIS

Where the sufficiency of the evidence is 

challenged after conviction, it is our duty 

to consider it in the light most favorable 

to the Commonwealth and give it all 

reasonable inferences fairly deducible 

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therefrom. We should affirm the judgment 

unless it appears from the evidence that the 

judgment is plainly wrong or without 

evidence to support it. 

Higginbotham v. Commonwealth, 216 Va. 349, 352, 218 S.E.2d 534, 

537 (1975). 

 Ward contends that the evidence was insufficient to support 

the felony obstruction of justice conviction. He argues that 

the Commonwealth failed to establish that he took any action to 

obstruct or impede Officer Smith. He was merely trying to 

defend himself as Officer Smith was choking him. We disagree. 

 Code § 18.2-460(C) provides in pertinent part: 

If any person by threats of bodily harm or 

force knowingly attempts to intimidate or 

impede a . . . law-enforcement officer, 

lawfully engaged in the discharge of his 

duty . . . he shall be guilty of a Class 5 

felony. 

As the evidence shows, Ward used force to impede Officer Smith's 

attempts to recover evidence in his mouth. Officers Smith and 

Woodson stopped Ward's vehicle after Officer Johnson observed a 

drug transaction occur. At the time of the stop, Ward knew of 

the police presence. Officer Smith approached the car wearing 

his gunbelt, a shirt marked "police," and his badge around his 

neck. 

 As Officer Smith approached, Ward placed something in his 

mouth and began to chew. Based on his training, experience, and 

the earlier observations by the drug surveillance team of Ward's 

activities, Officer Smith reasonably believed he was destroying 

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evidence. Officer Smith attempted to recover the items. With 

his hand around Ward's jaw and neck, he ordered Ward several 

times to spit the items out of his mouth. Ward ignored the 

commands. He struggled with Officer Smith, flailing his arms 

and ripping Officer Smith's badge off from around his neck. 

From this evidence, the fact finder could find beyond a 

reasonable doubt that Ward's resistance was an act to free 

himself from Officer Smith's grasp in order to prevent him from 

recovering suspected drug evidence. This conduct amounts to a 

use of force to impede a law enforcement officer's discharge of 

his lawful duty. Consequently, the evidence at trial was 

sufficient to support the felony obstruction of justice 

conviction. 

 The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. 

 Affirmed.

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