McKinnon v. State

Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to file a meritless motion to suppress the evidence found in the defendant's vehicle after the defendant abandoned it.

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A jury convicted appellant Travis Beyonis McKinnon of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute OCGA § 16-13-30 b, obstruction of an officer OCGA § 16-10-24 a, and giving a false name OCGA § 16-10-25. He appeals challenging the effectiveness of counsel for failure to file and argue a motion to suppress cocaine seized upon a search of the vehicle he drove. Discerning no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury verdict Drammeh v. State , 285 Ga. App. 545, 546 1 646 SE2d 742 2007, the evidence shows that during the night of February 1, 2008, police observed McKinnon sitting in a parked car in the driveway leading to an apartment complex. The officers observed what they considered to be suspicious hand movements in the vehicle and decided to investigate.

McKinnon exited the vehicle as the officers approached. Upon being asked, McKinnon identified himself as Mike Brown and stated that the vehicle belonged to a cousin named Muff who lived in an apartment which he identified in the nearby apartment complex. McKinnon, however, then changed his story and said that a woman named Alexie owned the vehicle. Given the foregoing, two of the officers proceeded to the apartment which McKinnon had identified and spoke with Tommy Bowens. Bowens, a/k/a Muff, denied owning the vehicle, and identified the appellant as McKinnon, rather than Mike Brown. McKinnon ran when thereafter asked to verify his name, colliding with a parked patrol car 15 to 20 yards from the vehicle he had driven. In a search of the vehicle, the officers found more than seven grams of cocaine in a Doritos canister located on the front seat where McKinnon had been sitting.

McKinnon v. State

Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to file a meritless motion to suppress the evidence found in the defendant's vehicle after the defendant abandoned it.

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