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Smith v. State

The arresting officer had probable cause to approach the defendant at the defendant's pallet business and search his hand based on his observation of the defendant smoking and the smell of marijuana from a path that local residents regularly traversed.

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A jury found Dexter Bernard Smith guilty of possessing cocaine and obstructing a law enforcement officer.1 Smith appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his cocaine conviction. He also argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We affirm. 1. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, ‘the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence, and we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict to determine if the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.’ “2 Viewed in this manner, the evidence shows that, on November 1, 2003, Officer Matt Williams of the Newnan Police Department saw two men peeking around the corner of a vacant house. Williams approached the house, but the men had left, so he walked down a path behind the house looking for them. According to Williams, he wanted “to make sure everything was okay, that the two men weren’t causing any problems in the area since it was a vacant house.”

The path led to a pallet business owned by Smith. As Williams approached, he saw Smith and three other men standing in the pallet yard. Smith was smoking “something,” and Williams smelled marijuana. Williams asked to see the substance in Smith’s hand, which Smith had placed behind his back. Smith then twisted his hand and fingers as though trying to “break . . . up” the substance. Williams grabbed Smith’s wrist, but Smith resisted and began struggling with Williams. During the struggle, Smith pulled a plastic bag out of his pocket and dropped it on the ground. With the help of two backup officers, Williams eventually managed to subdue Smith, handcuff him, and lay him on the ground.

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