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Epps v. State

Defendants convictions for cocaine trafficking could not stand because the police arrested defendants before they acquired possession of the drugs.

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William Epps, Rogelio Angulo, Dwayne Brayboy, and Fondel Barr were arrested by a drug task force conducting a reverse sting wherein undercover police officers pose as drug dealers, sell drugs to purchasers, and then arrest the purchasers for possession of the drugs.1 The arrestees were charged with trafficking in cocaine and other offenses. Epps, Angulo, and Brayboy appeal their convictions of trafficking in cocaine. Because possession of cocaine is an essential element of trafficking in cocaine, and because law enforcement authorities arrested appellants before they acquired possession of the cocaine, we must reverse their convictions based on an insufficiency of supporting evidence. Remaining issues are moot.

Construed in a light most favorable to support the verdict, the evidence showed that a City of Doraville police sergeant was told by a confidential informant that a man later identified as Angulo wanted to purchase a kilogram of cocaine. The sergeant decided to conduct a reverse sting with the assistance of a DeKalb County drug task force. The sting was conducted at an apartment complex in Doraville where Brayboy resided. The informant met Angulo at the apartment complex entrance. They were driving their respective cars. The informant was in possession of a block of cocaine weighing almost 998 grams.

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