Thomas v. State, 474 S.E.2d 631 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). · Go Syfert
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Thomas v. State, 474 S.E.2d 631 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
8 citation events (6 in the last 25 years) across 1 distinct court.
Strongest positive: Marshall v. State (gactapp, 2008-04-24)
Top citers, strongest first. 3 distinct citers.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Marshall v. State
Ga. Ct. App. · 2008 · confidence medium
Smith, P. J., and Adams, J., concur. 1 OCGA § 16-13-30 (b). 2 (Citation omitted.) Tise v. State, 273 Ga. App. 201 ( 614 SE2d 832 ) (2005). 3 (Citation, punctuation and footnote omitted.) Myers v. State, 268 Ga. App. 607, 608 (1) ( 602 SE2d 327 ) (2004). 4 See Tise, supra at 201 (1) (possession of unspecified amount of cocaine combined with the officer’s expert testimony that the amount exceeded that possessed for personal use sufficed to sustain conviction for possession with intent to distribute); Myers, supra at 609 (1) (possession of 11 rocks of cocaine combined with the officer’s expe…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Reason v. State
Ga. Ct. App. · 2007 · confidence medium
As such, the officer’s testimony was not hearsay. 8 Thomas v. State, 222 Ga. App. 337, 338 ( 474 SE2d 631 ) (1996). 9 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). 10 Collins v. State, 278 Ga. App. 103, 105 (1) (b) ( 628 SE2d 148 ) (2006). 11 Williams v. State, 277 Ga. 853, 857 (6) ( 596 SE2d 597 ) (2004). 12 Phillips v. Williams, 276 Ga. 691 ( 583 SE2d 4 ) (2003). 13 Dean v. State, 211 Ga. App. 28, 30 (3) ( 438 SE2d 380 ) (1993). 14 Franklin v. State, 281 Ga. App. 409, 411-412 (2) ( 636 SE2d 114 ) (2006). 15 Maldonado v. State, 268 Ga. App. 691, 693-695 (1) ( 603 SE2d…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Myers v. State
Ga. Ct. App. · 2004 · confidence medium
Barnes and Mikell, JJ., concur. 1 OCGA§ 16-13-30 (b). 2 Way v. State, 252 Ga. App. 9 (1) ( 555 SE2d 230 ) (2001). 3 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). 4 OCGA § 16-13-30 (b). 5 OCGA § 16-10-24 (a). 6 OCGA §40-8-7. 7 Glenn v. State, 251 Ga. App. 336, 338-339 (2) ( 553 SE2d 323 ) (2001). 8 Guild, v. State, 234 Ga. App. 862, 870 (10) (b) ( 508 SE2d 231 ) (1998). 9 Barker v. State, 226 Ga. App. 747, 748 (2) ( 487 SE2d 494 ) (1997). 10 Bacon v. State, 225 Ga. App. 326, 327 ( 483 SE2d 894 ) (1997). 11 Thomas v. State, 222 Ga. App. 337, 338 ( 474 SE2d 631 ) (1996)…
Thomas
v.
the State
A96A1002.
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Jul 17, 1996.
474 S.E.2d 631
Craig S. Mathis, for appellant., Britt R. Priddy, District Attorney, Gregory A. Clark, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
Beasley, Birdsong, Blackburn.
Cited by 4 opinions  |  Published
Beasley, Chief Judge.

Thomas challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (OCGA § 16-13-30). He was also convicted of obstruction of an officer (OCGA § 16-10-24) but acquitted of possession/consumption of an alcoholic beverage by a minor (OCGA § 3-3-23). The evidence is viewed with all reasonable inferences made and all issues of weight and credibility resolved in favor of the verdict. Patterson v. State, 181 Ga. App. 68, 69 (2) (351 SE2d 503) (1986).

City of Albany police officer Moored observed Thomas at the entrance to a food store. In disregard of “no loitering” signs and in[*338] violation of a local ordinance, Thomas and others were obstructing and hindering motorists as they turned into the parking lot of the store. He was taken into custody after attempting to flee and resisting arrest. Moored testified that as the officers made the arrest, he noticed an odor of alcoholic beverage on Thomas’ breath and body. After they had placed him in the back of the patrol car to transport him to the police station, he observed Thomas slide to the other side of the seat and stash something behind it. Afterward, he found a small ziplock bag with four or five pieces of crack cocaine. He had thoroughly checked the back seat for items before Thomas was seated there.

Decided July 17, 1996. Craig S. Mathis, for appellant. Britt R. Priddy, District Attorney, Gregory A. Clark, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

Thomas argues that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed the cocaine with intent to distribute it, in that he was not observed selling or attempting to sell drugs on the occasion in question and there was no evidence that he had sold drugs in the past.

Several facts in particular weigh against his theory of personal use: the number of pieces of crack cocaine and the absence of any smoking device. See Palmer v. State, 210 Ga. App. 717 (437 SE2d 490) (1993). A law enforcement officer who was qualified as an expert in the field of narcotics investigation testified that the quantity (and packaging) of the cocaine found in defendant’s possession would normally be consistent with that in the possession of a distributor or seller rather than a user. See Palmer, supra; Davis v. State, 200 Ga. App. 44, 45 (2) (406 SE2d 555) (1991); compare Dyer v. State, 218 Ga. App. 879 (1) (463 SE2d 718) (1995).

After viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979), any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime of possession with intent to distribute beyond a reasonable doubt. Adams v. State, 255 Ga. 356, 357 (338 SE2d 860) (1986).

Judgment affirmed.

Birdsong, P. J., and Blackburn, J., concur.