Howard v. State

The evidence authorized the jury to find that the defendant had constructive possession of a cigarette package containing narcotics, which officers found on the passenger side of the vehicle where the defendant was seated.

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A Cobb County jury found Randy Howard guilty of possession of methamphetamine1 and possession of cocaine.2 On appeal, Howard contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for directed verdict based on insufficient evidence of possession. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. “In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider whether the evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, would have authorized a rational trier of fact to find Howard guilty.”3

So viewed, the evidence presented at trial showed that in the early morning hours of April 4, 2007, Officer Lester Maddox was working undercover, surveilling an area of Cobb County known for high crime. As he was driving around the area in an unmarked police car, the officer observed a vehicle with three passengers pull out of the parking lot of an extended-stay hotel and into the parking lot of an abandoned service station. This piqued the officer’s suspicion, and while under observation, the vehicle continued to an adjacent warehouse and picked up a fourth individual later determined to be Howard from a trailer parked at the warehouse. With Howard seated in the front passenger seat, the vehicle left the area and continued onto Interstate 20, where a marked police car stopped the vehicle after Ray Messer, the driver, committed a traffic violation. Upon searching the vehicle, an officer found a Marlboro cigarette package containing what later tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine on the front passenger’s side floorboard.

Howard v. State

The evidence authorized the jury to find that the defendant had constructive possession of a cigarette package containing narcotics, which officers found on the passenger side of the vehicle where the defendant was seated.

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