Following a jury trial, Jose Antonio Rivera was convicted of possession of cocaine1 and trafficking in methamphetamine.2 He appeals his conviction and the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that he was entitled to a new trial because of newly discovered evidence and because the State unlawfully withheld that evidence. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Davis v. State ,3 the evidence shows that on September 26, 2006, police officers were conducting surveillance of a specific mobile home in a local mobile home park based on reports that methamphetamine was being produced there. Not long after beginning their surveillance, the officers saw Rivera exit the mobile home carrying a large, gray bucket and walk toward a van parked nearby. As Rivera got into the van, one of the officers on the surveillance team approached, with his badge displayed, and asked Rivera if he would mind speaking with him. Rivera agreed to speak with the officer, exited the van and, in doing so, left the driver’s side door of the vehicle open. As a result, the officer was able to see that the bucket, which Rivera had carried from the mobile home, contained what appeared to be a large quantity of methamphetamine. The officer asked Rivera what was in the bucket, and Rivera, responding that it contained his tools, then attempted to flee on foot. After a short chase, two officers from the surveillance team apprehended and arrested him. Subsequently, the officers searched the van and found that the gray bucket contained digital scales and a bag of cocaine, as well as the methamphetamine.
Rivera was charged by accusation with one count of possession of cocaine, one count of trafficking in methamphetamine, and one count of obstructing a police officer. At trial, two of the officers in the surveillance team testified as to Rivera’s arrest, and a forensic chemist from the GBI State Crime Lab testified that the contraband found in Rivera’s bucket constituted 12.08 grams of cocaine and 30.39 grams of methamphetamine. In his defense, Rivera testified that there was another person at the mobile home, who left shortly before he did, and that this person must have placed the drugs in his tool bucket without his knowledge.
