Case Name: The STATE, Respondent, v. Roger Dale COBB, Petitioner
Court: Supreme Court of South Carolina
Jurisdiction: South Carolina
Decision Date: 2003-07-28
Citations: 355 S.C. 98
Docket Number: No. 25687
Parties: The STATE, Respondent, v. Roger Dale COBB, Petitioner.
Judges: MOORE and WALLER, JJ., concur. BURNETT, J., dissenting in a separate opinion in which TOAL, C.J., concurs.
Reporter: South Carolina Reports
Volume: 355
Pages: 98–104

Head Matter:
584 S.E.2d 371
The STATE, Respondent, v. Roger Dale COBB, Petitioner.
No. 25687.
Supreme Court of South Carolina.
Heard June 11, 2003.
Decided July 28, 2003.
Assistant Appellate Defender Eleanor Duffy Cleary and Assistant Appellate Defender Robert M. Dudek, of S.C. Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for Petitioner.
Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport, of Columbia; and Solicitor Robert M. Ariail, of Greenville, for Respondent.

Opinion:
Justice PLEICONES:
We granted certiorari to review a decision of the Court of Appeals holding that the circuit court properly refused to sentence Roger Dale Cobb ("petitioner") under the accommodation statute . State v. Cobb, 349 S.C. 126, 561 S.E.2d 631(Ct.App.2002). We reverse and remand.
Petitioner was indicted for: distribution of marijuana to a person under 18 years of age, distribution of marijuana, second degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The jury found petitioner not guilty of distribution of marijuana to a person under 18 years of age; guilty of distribution of marijuana; and guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor. Petitioner was found not guilty of possession with intent to distribute, but guilty of the lesser-included offense of possession of marijuana. Petitioner received a 20 year sentence for distribution , a consecutive five year sentence for exploitation of a minor, and a concurrent one year sentence for possession.
Petitioner appealed the trial judge's refusal to sentence petitioner on the distribution charge under the accommodation statute, and the Court of Appeals affirmed his sentence. State v. Cobb, supra. We granted petitioner's petition for writ of certiorari to review this decision, and now reverse and remand to the circuit court.
ISSUE
Did the Court of Appeals err in finding that the trial court properly refused to consider the distribution charge as an accommodation and therefore mitigate petitioner's sentence?
DISCUSSION
South Carolina Code Ann. § 44-53-460 (2002) allows a person who is found guilty of distributing certain controlled substances, such as marijuana, to have a hearing and
if the convicted person establishes by clear and convincing evidence that he delivered or possessed with intent to deliver a controlled substance . only as an accommodation to another individual and not with intent to profit thereby nor to induce the recipient . of the controlled . substance to use or become addicted upon the substance, the court shall sentence the person as if he had been convicted of [simple possession].
Petitioner, an adult, drove victim, a sixteen year old minor, and her girlfriend ("girlfriend"), a seventeen year old minor, to his home at victim's request, because she wanted to "get drunk." When they got to petitioner's home, petitioner did not offer victim marijuana, but victim asked if she could smoke some of the petitioner's marijuana. Victim testified that petitioner did not force victim to smoke the marijuana. Later that evening, victim and girlfriend began "making out" and petitioner took a picture of the girls having sex "with each other.
The next day, police took victim into custody because she was a runaway, and the victim recounted the events of the previous night to the police. The police obtained a search warrant for petitioner's home and found a tin can with four ounces of marijuana in it, as well as the photo of the nude girls.
During the accommodation hearing , the trial judge held that this event was not an accommodation distribution because petitioner profited by satisfying his prurient interests. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision holding this was not an accommodation distribution because "[petitioner] benefited from his furnishing of the marijuana to the victim because he watched the girls undress and engage in a sexual act. [Petitioner] also used the opportunity to take [a] naked picture[ ] of the girls." State v. Cobb, supra at 128, 561 S.E.2d at 633. We disagree with the Court of Appeals that the phrase "intent to profit" as used in the accommodation statute is tantamount to "benefit".
The General Assembly's use of the phrase "intent to profit" clearly demonstrates it was distinguishing transactions that are commercial in nature wherein the defendant intends to profit in a material sense, from those of a more 'personal' nature . See e.g., State v. McNabb, 241 N.W.2d 32, 35 (Iowa 1976) (defining "profit" in Iowa's accommodation statute as "the excess of returns over expenditures in a given transaction or series of transactions"); Barlow v. Commonwealth, 26 Va.App. 421, 494 S.E.2d 901, 905 (1998)(defming "profit" as "any commercial transaction in which there is consideration involved"). We hold that "intent to profit" in the statute does not mean the distributor merely received a "benefit." Instead the statute requires profit in a commercial sense or a quid pro quo, as where the marijuana is used as a medium of exchange. If "intent to profit" as used in the statute means "benefit" as the Court of Appeals implies, the statute would be eviscerated as "benefit" has a broader meaning than "intent to profit" and would arguably apply in any situation.
In the case at hand, the victim testified that petitioner did not offer the marijuana to her, but rather that she asked if she could smoke it. The victim also testified that she did not pay petitioner for the marijuana nor did she do anything in return for its provision. The victim testified that her girlfriend, initiated the kissing, and that both victim and girlfriend initiated sex, not petitioner. The situation presented in this case is a classic accommodation sale. We note that there could be situations when sex is involved in a commercial sense, and thus a "profit" would be realized. That does not apply here because there was no agreement that the drugs were in exchange for the girls having sex or for petitioner taking pictures of them. Moreover, there is no evidence that the pictures were intended for commercial use by petitioner.
The petitioner's actions, while reprehensible, fit clearly within the General Assembly's definition of accommodation.
CONCLUSION
We reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals. There is no evidence to support the trial court's decision not to sentence petitioner under the accommodation statute. We remand the case to the circuit court to sentence petitioner under the accommodation statute.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
MOORE and WALLER, JJ., concur. BURNETT, J., dissenting in a separate opinion in which TOAL, C.J., concurs.
. S.C.Code Ann. § 44-53-460 (2002).
. Petitioner's maximum sentence exposure was enhanced by two prior drug offenses.
. Petitioner moved for an accommodation hearing pursuant to S.C.Code Ann. § 44-53-460 (2002), after the jury verdict. No additional evidence was presented at the accommodation hearing, but the parties relied on the evidence presented at trial.
. In interpreting statutes, "our sole function is to determine and, within constitutional limits, give effect to the intention of the legislature, with reference to the meaning of the language used and the subject matter and purpose of the statute." State v. Ramsey, 311 S.C. 555, 561, 430 S.E.2d 511, 515 (1993).