Opinion ID: 2524910
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: A. Gorman

Text: On September 18, 1995, an informant for the Lakewood police department arranged a drug buy between himself and James Smith (Smith), a minor. The informant made arrangements with Smith to purchase approximately two to three pounds of marijuana. At this time, Lakewood police were targeting Smith and his unknown source for dealing marijuana. The informant, who was wearing a pager-like recording device, met Smith in a store parking lot. After the informant gave Smith some of the money, Smith retrieved the marijuana from a car parked nearby and brought it to the informant's car. When the informant gave the agreed-upon signal, the police approached and arrested Smith. The police also arrested Kenneth C. Gorman (Gorman), the owner and occupant of the car Smith had visited for the marijuana. They found the informant's money and several bags of marijuana in Gorman's car. Gorman was charged with several offenses, including contributing to the delinquency of a minor. See § 18-6-701. Gorman's trial commenced on September 24, 1996. During trial, Gorman, acting pro se, [2] introduced into evidence a videotaped statement he gave to the police after his arrest. In that statement, Gorman told police that he assumed Smith was seventeen or eighteen years old. However, the police officer who arrested Gorman testified that, previous to the video-taped statement, Gorman told him that Smith was sixteen or seventeen years old. In his closing statement, Gorman argued that he believed Smith to be over the age of eighteen.