A jury found Hillard Bailey guilty of two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, one count of possession of cocaine, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and the trial court denied his motion for a new trial. He contends that the State failed to prove possession of the controlled substances beyond a reasonable doubt. For the following reasons, we affirm. On appeal the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to support the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court determines evidence sufficiency and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility. The standard for reviewing a denial of a motion for a new trial is whether under the rule of Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 61 LE2d 560, 99 SC 2781 1979, the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of the charged offense. Citations and punctuation omitted. Taylor v. State , 303 Ga. App. 88, 89 693 SE2d 118 2010. Construed in favor of the jury’s verdict, the evidence showed that police officers executed a search warrant for a house in Villa Rica, Georgia. Police found Bailey in the backyard of the house. When the officers announced that they had a search warrant, Bailey fled from the yard. After a short chase, Bailey was caught by the police. During the search, the police encountered Bailey’s daughter and asked her who lived at the house, and she stated that it was Bailey’s home. Also during the search, the police found a poster on a bedroom door that identified it as Bailey and his girlfriend’s room. Bailey’s wallet and driver’s license were located within the bedroom as well. Additionally, the police searching the bedroom found bills addressed to Bailey at the house.
Three different guns were found scattered around the bedroom. A large quantity of cash in different denominations also was discovered during the police search. Furthermore, the police search uncovered suspected marijuana, marijuana plants, and cocaine. Different sized plastic bags were also located at the house that an officer testified were consistent with drug dealing. Bailey was arrested after the search was concluded. Subsequent testing of the seized substances confirmed that they were marijuana and cocaine.
