Carter v. State

A jury found Ellis Eugene Carter guilty of trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He appeals from the convictions entered on the verdict, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, that the trial court erroneously permitted the introduction of character evidence and similar transaction evidence, and that the court improperly allowed a police officer to speculate as to why the controlled drug transaction was delayed. Each of the enumerations is without merit, so we affirm the convictions. 1. In two enumerations, Carter contends that the evidence, which was circumstantial, was insufficient to show he possessed cocaine. He urges that the cocaine was not found on his person, that he was not in the car where some of the drugs were found, that he had no connection to the house where the rest of the drugs were recovered, and that he had no control over the cocaine. The jury was authorized to find from the evidence that Carter either constructively possessed the cocaine or was a party to the crimes charged.

After the jury’s verdict of guilty, a defendant can no longer rely on the presumption of innocence, and this Court cannot weigh the evidence or judge the witnesses’ credibility.1 We must construe the evidence to uphold the verdict and determine only whether the evidence is such as to enable any rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt.2