Bobby Darden appeals following the denial of his motion for new trial after he was convicted of one count of trafficking in cocaine and one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Darden asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress, in denying his Batson motion on the ground of race and in admitting impermissible hearsay testimony. He further argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. On June 11, 2003, Officer Anthony Smith, a task force agent working with the Drug Enforcement Administration, was conducting surveillance on an apartment complex in Gwinnett County, along with other members of the task force. The officers were acting on information that a white Lincoln Navigator had been involved in several drug transactions.1 After a white Navigator driven by Darden pulled out of the complex, Officer Smith followed it to a nearby McDonald’s restaurant. Darden pulled into the parking lot, and a man and a woman got out of a Nissan Pathfinder and into the backseat of the Navigator. Darden drove to where a large tractor-trailer was parked, and backed the Navigator into a space beside truck. Officer Smith pulled his unmarked car on the other side of the parking lot, directly facing the Navigator, where he had an unobstructed view and could see inside the vehicle.
Smith saw Darden turn towards the back seat and then observed what appeared to be an exchange between the occupants of the car. Although Smith could see the occupants’ bodies, he did not have a close-up view of their hands and could not see what was exchanged. A few minutes later, Darden drove back to the couple’s Nissan, where they jumped out of the backseat and jumped into their own car. Both vehicles exited the parking lot very hurriedly. Smith determined, based upon his training and experience as a drug enforcement officer, that he had witnessed a drug transaction. He followed the Nissan and pulled the car over. Officer Smith advised the driver, Patricia Winderweedle, that he had observed her transaction with Darden. She denied this at first, but then admitted to a drug transaction after Smith told her that he had seen what had happened. At trial, Winderweedle testified that she admitted the drug transaction after Smith told her that it would be better for her if she cooperated because he had a female officer and a drug dog on the way. She then removed approximately an ounce of powder cocaine from inside her shirt and gave it to Smith, saying she had paid Darden $850 for it.
