Upkins v. State

A jury found Kevin Upkins guilty of possession of cocaine. He appeals from the judgment of conviction entered on the verdict, challenging the admission of a police officer’s testimony that a visitor to the hotel room in which Upkins was arrested had drug paraphernalia in her purse. According to Upkins, evidence of the visitor’s possessions was unduly prejudicial and not relevant to the charge brought against him. We find neither harm nor error in the admission of the testimony, and affirm the conviction. Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict,1 the evidence shows that police responded to a complaint regarding Room 263 at the Best Value Inn. Four uniformed officers arrived at the room to find the door ajar. One of the officers recognized the smell of burning cocaine emanating from the room.

The officers knocked on the door, and it opened. When they identified themselves as police officers, one of the room’s occupants fled into the bathroom. The officers then entered the room, one of them following the man into the bathroom. Police found Upkins and the fleeing man in the bathroom.