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Hinton v. State

Significant evidence, other than a cocaine field test, authorized the jury to find that the defendant possessed cocaine.

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A jury found Kevin Hinton guilty of possessing cocaine, possessing marijuana, obstructing an officer, and driving with a suspended license.1 Hinton appeals, claiming that he received ineffective assistance of counsel with respect to the cocaine charge. For reasons that follow, we affirm. Viewed favorably to the jury’s verdict, the evidence shows that while on patrol on November 4, 2002, Officer Henry Hudson of the Dekalb County Police Department performed a random computer check on the license tag of a vehicle driven by Hinton. When the computer check indicated that the tag had been stolen, Hudson requested backup assistance from his dispatcher and followed the vehicle. Hudson eventually signaled Hinton to pull the car over, but Hinton refused to stop. After a brief car chase, Hinton jumped from the vehicle and ran into a wooded area.

Backup officers arrived on the scene, and one pursued Hinton, who was apprehended in a nearby apartment. A search of Hinton’s person revealed a “gram scale” commonly used to measure cocaine that was covered with a white powder residue. Officers field-tested the residue, which indicated positive for cocaine, but did not submit it to the crime lab for chemical analysis. The officer who transported Hinton to the police station also found a bag of marijuana in the back seat when he removed Hinton from the patrol car.

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