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Stewart v. State

Affirmative evidence showing that others had equal access to the room where officers found drugs rebutted, as a matter of law, any presumption of possession arising from the fact that the defendant rented the room in her name.

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Following a trial by jury, Kayla Stewart was convicted of possession of cocaine.1 On appeal, Stewart contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction. We agree and, accordingly, reverse.2

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,3 the record shows that Stewart and her then-boyfriend, Robert Beasley, and Beasley’s friend, Natdaniel Whetstone, were indicted for trafficking cocaine.4 This indictment resulted from law enforcement’s discovery of drugs in a Newnan hotel room that Stewart and Beasley shared on December 24, 2011, after responding to a call from the hotel. Stewart, who still lived in her parents’ home, informed law enforcement that she rented the room so that she and Beasley could spend some time together. At 10:00 p.m., however, Stewart decided to leave the hotel because she was frustrated by constant interruptions from Beasley’s friends, including Whetstone. Beasley remained in the room with Whetstone until approximately 11:00 p.m., when the two left the premises to go shoot pool.

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