Court Opinion

ID: 9580355
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:04:22.151409+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:13.936568
License: Public Domain

McMurray, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
There is no evidence showing defendant’s relationship with the other individuals found on the premises. It was not established that defendant had any possessory or proprietary interest in the premises. There is no evidence showing a connection between defendant and the cocaine found concealed in the bathroom. The evidence, including defendant’s possession of 1.1 grams of cocaine, his flight upon arrival of the officers, and his possession of a quantity of currency ($848), was not sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that his presence in the residence was in the capacity of seller or co-conspirator rather than purchaser. Ridgeway v. State, 187 Ga. App. 381 (370 SE2d 216).
While alluding to hearsay statements upon which the search warrant was predicated and citing black letter law concerning the jury’s place in the resolution of conflicting evidence, the majority fails to reference any evidence presented at trial which demonstrates a connection between defendant and the crack cocaine found in the bathroom. Furthermore, the majority’s reliance upon In the Interest of A. H., 199 Ga. App. 178 (404 SE2d 341) is entirely misplaced. The juveniles in In the Interest of A. H. were shown to have been present in the room where a shipment of cocaine was received, and then cut and packaged for sale. The decision in In the Interest of A. H. placed great emphasis on the juveniles’ presence in the room while the cocaine was received and processed. In contrast, there is no evidence that defendant had any knowledge of the cocaine in the bathroom or had ever been in the same room with that cocaine prior to his attempt to escape the entering officers by that route.
While the evidence is sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant possessed I. 1 grams of cocaine, a similar conclusion that he possessed a greater quantity of cocaine is not authorized since no direct or circumstantial evidence has established that defendant possessed the bathroom caches of cocaine. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560). Due to the lack of proof that defendant possessed the requisite quantity of cocaine (28 grams, see OCGA § 16-13-31 (a) (1)), his conviction for trafficking in cocaine should be reversed and defendant *763resentenced on the lesser included offense of possession of cocaine. Hogan v. State, 193 Ga. App. 543 (1) (388 SE2d 532).
Decided March 18, 1992
Reconsideration denied April 3, 1992
Leon M. Braun, Jr., for appellant.
Dupont K. Cheney, District Attorney, J. Stephen Archer, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Carley joins in this dissent.