Vern Lamar Murphy was convicted of possession of cocaine, and following the denial of his motion for new trial, he appeals. Murphy contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict and in failing to charge the jury on equal access, and that his trial counsel was ineffective. Upon our review, we affirm. On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to support the verdict, and Murphy no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court determines evidence sufficiency and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility. Citations and footnotes omitted. Eady v. State , 256 Ga. App. 696 569 SE2d 603 2002. So viewed, the evidence shows that a police officer with the Griffin Police Department’s Tactical Response Unit was involved in a neighborhood revitalization initiative in a Griffin neighborhood because of suspected drug activity. On May 16, 2007, an officer was surveiling a house because the owner had complained that trespassers would sometimes sit on his front porch, and he was afraid to confront them because of possible retaliation. The officer observed Murphy sitting on the front porch of the house. Murphy walked to the side of the house, removed an item from the top of the electrical meter box, and gave the item to another individual who was standing near the rear of the house. The officer observed the individual shake the object and walk off. Murphy walked back to the side of the house, placed an object back on the electrical meter, and returned to the front porch.
The officer testified that based on his belief that he had witnessed a “hand to hand drug transaction,” he contacted his lieutenant who was stationed about a block away. The lieutenant approached Murphy, who was sitting on the porch of the house, and an accompanying officer secured the object, a plastic bag containing three rock-like substances, that was on top of the electrical meter box. The contents of the bag were later tested and confirmed to be three rocks of crack cocaine. Police searched Murphy and recovered a cell phone and $20.
