Barr v. State

The defendant had 32 grams of 61 percent pure cocaine on his person when arrested and admitted knowing that the substance was cocaine.

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Following a bench trial, Breon Barr appeals his conviction for trafficking in cocaine.1 He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and further contends that he neither knowingly waived his right to a jury trial nor received effective assistance of counsel. We hold that the evidence sufficed to sustain the finding of guilt and that evidence further supported the trial court’s findings that Barr knowingly waived his right to a jury trial and received effective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, we affirm. 1. When reviewing a defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. Short v. State .2 We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine if the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia .3

So viewed, the evidence shows that on February 29, 2008, an undercover officer phoned a known drug dealer to arrange a purchase of two ounces of cocaine for $1500 in the parking lot of a Home Depot. With other police hidden nearby, the undercover officer drove to the Home Depot and parked near the drug dealer’s car. Barr exited the drug dealer’s car and entered into the passenger seat of the officer’s car, asking the officer if he had the money. Responding that he did, the officer asked Barr if he had the drugs, and Barr responded in the affirmative. At the officer’s request, Barr showed the officer the cocaine and then insisted that the officer show him the money so that he could count it. Signaling his fellow officers to arrest the suspects, the officer then feigned looking for the money, prompting Barr to encourage the officer “to hurry up because this is illegal.” The officers arrested the drug dealer and Barr, confiscating the cocaine on Barr’s person; the cocaine was 61 percent pure and weighed 32 grams.

Barr v. State

The defendant had 32 grams of 61 percent pure cocaine on his person when arrested and admitted knowing that the substance was cocaine.

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