Scandrett v. State

A Clayton County jury found Charlie Horace Scandrett, Jr., guilty of possessing cocaine. On appeal, Scandrett asserts that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress the cocaine. Because we agree with the trial court that Scandrett lacks standing to challenge the search that yielded the cocaine, we affirm.

Two Forest Park police officers, William Donald Raiford and Willie Martin, were patrolling an area of Forest Park known for high drug activity. They saw a car parked in the yard of a residence and a man—later identified as Scandrett—leaning into the driver’s side window with his hands inside the car. Thinking that a drug sale was in progress, the officers stopped to investigate. As Raiford approached the car, Scandrett looked at him, then removed his hands from the car and put them in his jacket pockets. As Scandrett started walking toward the back of the car, Raiford told him to put his hands on the car. Scandrett “made a sudden movement like he was breaking to run,” and Raiford grabbed him. With his right hand, Scandrett threw a bag over the top of the car. Martin retrieved the bag, which contained crack cocaine.