Browner v. State

The omission of information that the informant returned all of the money to the officer along with the cocaine did not affect the magistrate's finding of probable cause since the officer orally told the magistrate that the cocaine was "fronted" to the confidential informant.

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A Barrow County jury found Donnovan Leshun Browner guilty of trafficking in cocaine and violation of the Georgia firearms and weapons act. The jury also found Browner guilty of possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and these counts were merged into the trafficking count for purposes of sentencing. On appeal, Browner claims the trial court erred by i denying his motion to suppress, ii denying his motion to reveal the identity of a confidential informant, iii refusing to grant his motion for continuance, iv allowing testimony with regard to a document not in evidence, and v giving an erroneous jury instruction. For the reasons set forth below, we disagree and affirm. The evidence shows that law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at 133 Duke Street in Winder. In a bedroom inside the house the officers found a checkbook with Browner’s name, photographs of Browner, a rifle which had the barrel and the stock sawed off, and a set of GM keys that opened the Cadillac parked outside the house. In another bedroom, officers found an identification card of Browner’s brother Rico Browner and letters addressed to Rico Browner. In the kitchen, officers found boxes of latex gloves, sandwich bags with white residue in them, and “corner” baggies, which, according to a testifying officer, was a modified sandwich bag usually used to package illegal substances.

Outside the house, officers “jimmied” open the locked doors of the Cadillac. In the rear passenger compartment of the vehicle, officers recovered a bag containing a net weight of 44 grams of cocaine and a large number of small baggies. Also in the car were an identification card and a credit card bearing Browner’s name. An officer testified that he had previously seen Browner driving the Cadillac. Further evidence showed that Browner owned the Cadillac.

Browner v. State

The omission of information that the informant returned all of the money to the officer along with the cocaine did not affect the magistrate's finding of probable cause since the officer orally told the magistrate that the cocaine was "fronted" to the confidential informant.

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