Cox v. State

Evidence that the defendant's personal papers were in the apartment where officers discovered drugs, drug paraphernalia and a shotgun and that he had a key to the apartment authorized the jury to find that the defendant possessed control over the apartment and evidence found therein.

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A Chatham County jury found Michael Bruce Cox guilty of one count of possession of tools for the commission of a crime a mixing bowl,1 three counts of possession or delivery of controlled substances alprazolam, diazepam, and hydrocodone with the intent to distribute,2 one count of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana,3 one count of trafficking in cocaine over twenty-eight grams,4 and one count of possession of a sawed-off shotgun.5 On appeal, Cox contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for directed verdict because there was insufficient evidence to support the guilty verdicts. 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 Cox guilty.”6

So viewed, the evidence shows that on July 29, 2006, officers executed a search warrant at an apartment based on two controlled buys of narcotics made by a confidential informant “CI” at the location. The CI had made purchases from Chedrick Chaney, but Cox was at the apartment during one of the buys, and the CI thought that the apartment was Cox’s.7 When the officers entered the small efficiency apartment, they apprehended Cox, who told them that he had been in the bathroom the only separate room in the apartment, where the officers found marijuana and currency with serial numbers matching those used during the controlled buys. Cox admitted that the marijuana was his, and he was going to smoke it when the officers arrived at the apartment. Cox’s key ring had a key to the apartment as well as a key to the vehicle he drove to the scene.

Cox v. State

Evidence that the defendant's personal papers were in the apartment where officers discovered drugs, drug paraphernalia and a shotgun and that he had a key to the apartment authorized the jury to find that the defendant possessed control over the apartment and evidence found therein.

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