Williams v. State

Denard Williams was tried before a jury and found guilty of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. The trial court sentenced Williams to serve four years in confinement and four years on probation. He appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the state’s failure to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence, the admission of similar transaction evidence, and the giving of a particular jury instruction. The challenges are without merit, and we therefore affirm Williams’ conviction. 1. “On appeal the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to support the verdict, and appellant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court determines evidence sufficiency and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility.”1

Viewed in favor of the verdict, the evidence in the instant case shows that on June 19, 2003, Tony Corley was driving his sister’s car, with Williams sitting in the front passenger seat and his friend Freddie Brown sitting in the back seat. A police officer stopped Corley because one of the car’s rear brake lights did not work. During the stop, the officer discovered that Corley did not have a valid driver’s license. The officer arrested Corley for driving without a valid license and impounded the vehicle since it did not belong to him or either passenger.