A Gwinnett County jury convicted Emilio Avellaneda of trafficking in cocaine, OCGA § 16-13-31 a, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, OCGA § 16-11-106. He appeals, contending the trial court violated his constitutional rights when, after severing his trial from that of his co-defendant, Norberto Ramirez Cancino, the court refused to compel the State to take Cancino to trial first. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to support the jury’s verdict,1 the record shows that a confidential informant “CI” approached Gwinnett County Drug Task Force officers with information about a suspected drug dealer, Avellaneda. The CI referred to Avellaneda as “Amigo,” had known Avellaneda for at least eight months, and had been to Avellaneda’s apartment. In August 2000, the CI contacted Avellaneda and arranged a controlled purchase of two kilograms of cocaine for $50,000. Avellaneda instructed the CI to meet him in the parking lot of a Gwinnett County shopping center. Avellaneda drove his truck to the lot and paged the CI twice. Cancino was a passenger in Avellaneda’s truck. The CI testified that he had met Cancino through Avellaneda and had only seen him once or twice over the two months before the controlled buy.
The CI and undercover officers drove to the shopping center and, as they pulled into the parking lot, Avellaneda flashed his lights at them. They pulled alongside the truck and the CI got into the back seat of the truck, sitting behind Cancino. The CI asked Avellaneda where the drugs were and Avellaneda said, “Give me the money.” The CI responded that he wanted his “buddy” in the other car to check out the cocaine. Avellaneda talked with Cancino in Spanish for a moment, then Avellaneda handed the CI a bag containing two packages of cocaine, 1002 grams each with individual purities of 76 and 77 percent. The CI got out of the truck with the cocaine and walked back to the car. Cancino also got out of the truck and walked toward the car. The undercover officer that had been driving the car checked to ensure the bag contained cocaine, then got out of the car and approached the truck. He told Cancino and Avellaneda that the cocaine looked fine and suggested that they “do some future deals.” Both defendants responded by nodding at the suggestion. The officer then walked to the back of the car and pretended to get the money. At that time, the officer gave a “take down” signal and supporting officers drove up to make an arrest. The officers wore black t-shirts and vests with large white or yellow letters spelling “POLICE.” They identified themselves as police officers as they approached Avellaneda, who was still seated in the truck. Avellaneda started “scrambling,” obviously trying to pull a weapon from his waistband. The officers ordered Avellaneda to put his hands up, but Avellaneda continued to reach for his weapon. Finally, the officers “extracted” Avellaneda from the truck and handcuffed him. They found a loaded .380 semi-automatic pistol in Avellaneda’s waistband, as well as a loaded .357 revolver hidden beneath Cancino’s shirt.
