Court Opinion

ID: 9569232
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:11:40.868834+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:50:43.957719
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
On motion for rehearing, appellant argues that his case is not unlike a series of cases exemplified by Dawson v. State, 183 Ga. App. 94 (357 SE2d 891) (1987), and that this court erred in not finding that appellant was entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal. Dawson is distinguishable inasmuch as in that case Dawson’s codefendant testified that Dawson did not have any knowledge of the existence of the drugs which this court found he should have been acquitted of possessing. There was no such testimony in Reed’s case. “If a person is driving an automobile or has an automobile in his possession, custody or control, all in that automobile is presumed to be his and in his possession.” Autry v. State, 150 Ga. App. 584 (2) (258 SE2d 268) (1979). Whether or not the evidence was sufficient to rebut the inference arising from the finding of the drugs in the automobile is a question for the jury to decide. Moore v. State, 155 Ga. App. 149, 151 (270 SE2d 339) (1980). Since there was some evidence offered in an attempt to rebut the presumption (appellant’s testimony that the drugs were not his), there was a question of fact for the jury to resolve. Therefore, appellant was not entitled to a grant of his motion for directed verdict of acquittal. The motion for rehearing is denied.