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Barrow v. State9/16/2004
A jury found Erick Barrow guilty of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and attempting to elude a police officer. The same jury found his co-defendant, Elkanah Williams, guilty of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute. In Case Number A04A1429, Barrow appeals, and Williams appeals in Case Number Because both cases involve the same facts, we have consolidated them for review. For reasons that follow, we affirm.
On appeal from a criminal conviction, a defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence, and we view the evidence in a light most favorable to support the jury's verdict. Viewed in this light, the evidence demonstrates that on April 16, 2002, Henry County Police Officer Kenneth Freeman was patrolling traffic on the interstate, and his police car was stopped in the median. While monitoring southbound traffic, Officer Freeman saw Barrow driving a gray Mustang with Williams sitting in the passenger seat. Immediately after passing the police car, the Mustang braked so quickly that the front of the car dipped, which made Officer Freeman think that Barrow might be driving under the influence .
Officer Freeman pulled into traffic behind the Mustang, and he saw the driver change lanes without using any turn signals. Officer Freeman activated his blue lights to stop the Mustang, but Barrow did not stop. Officer Freeman then turned on his siren, and Barrow still failed to stop. According to Officer Freeman, he could see Williams "making a lot of furtive movements." Williams began throwing "white blocky substances" out of the car window. Officer Freeman noted various spots along the interstate where the substance landed, and he radioed Mark Amerman, another officer patrolling the same interstate, telling him that drugs were being discarded from a car being pursued. Barrow eventually exited the highway, and Officer Freeman saw Williams throw out "a bunch of bags and stuff," which littered the exit ramp. Barrow finally stopped in a parking lot.
Officer Freeman and Officer Amerman retrieved some of the items thrown from the car, including a block of white substance that did not disintegrate upon hitting the ground. The substance proved to be 24.91 grams of cocaine. Barrow and Williams were subsequently charged with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, and Barrow was charged with attempting to elude a police officer.
Case Number A04A1429
On appeal, Barrow challenges the sufficiency of the evidence that he possessed cocaine with intent to distribute. He also contends that the trial court erred in: denying a motion to suppress; failing either to exclude evidence or postpone the trial; and permitting the State to bolster its witnesses. Finally, Barrow argues that the form of the verdict was improper. We address each argument in turn.
1. According to Barrow, the evidence was insufficient to show that he possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute. Specifically, Barrow points to the absence of evidence such as "weighing devices," "large sums of cash," or individually wrapped small baggies of cocaine. Although his argument is not entirely clear, it appears that Barrow contends the State proved, at best, that he merely possessed cocaine, not that he intended to distribute it.
"Although mere possession of cocaine cannot serve as the basis for a conviction for intent to distribute, the intent can be established with expert testimony that the amount of cocaine found was greater than would normally be had for individual use." Here, the trial court certified Officer Amerman as an expert with regard to the delivery and packaging of narcotics for distribution. Officer Amerman testified that the street value of coc
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