On October 28, 2005, an indictment was returned charging, inter alia, Elierzer Toro and Brent Smith with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of MDMA, misdemeanor possession of marijuana less than one ounce, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony; Toro was also charged with theft by receiving stolen property Indictment Number 05SC36729. A short time later, on November 4, 2005, an indictment was returned charging, inter alia, Toro and Jennifer Klein with trafficking in methamphetamine Indictment Number 05SC36979. The trial court granted the State’s motion to join the indictments for trial, and a jury subsequently convicted Toro of all charged offenses. Toro filed motions for new trial and to vacate his sentence, and the trial court denied both motions but modified Toro’s sentence. Toro appeals, challenging the trial court’s denial of both motions.
The evidence adduced at trial, construed to support the verdict as we must on appeal, shows the following: Toro was first arrested on October 14, 2005. Tim Brown, who at that time was working as an undercover officer with the Atlanta Police Department, testified that Officer Willie Robinson and he were conducting surveillance in an unmarked car in the Lenox Mall parking lot after being advised by a police investigator that two “suspects” were coming there to meet with a victim who had reported his car stolen. The victim was also parked in the Lenox lot, and Brown observed two men, subsequently identified as Toro and Brent Smith, arrive in a Honda Accord with a “drive out tag” on the back. Toro exited the car and exchanged words with the victim, and then Toro got back in the Honda and drove out of the parking lot. Brown and Robinson followed the Honda, which was stopped by a marked police car. Toro and Smith were taken into custody.
