Bentley v. State, 73655
| Decision Date | 28 May 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 73655,73655 |
| Citation | 183 Ga.App. 112,358 S.E.2d 274 |
| Parties | BENTLEY v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
John Kirby, Doraville, for appellant.
Robert F. Mumford, Dist. Atty., for appellee.
Jimmy L. Bentley was convicted of possession of cocaine and was sentenced to serve ten years.
1. The evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to enable any rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty of possession of cocaine, a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).
2. Appellant argues that the trial court erred in allowing the State to elicit testimony from Sergeant Edge about needle marks he observed on appellant's arms. The record shows that the State's theory of the case was that appellant had injected cocaine. On direct, the State asked Edge if he had observed anything unusual about appellant's arms. Edge then replied with his testimony about observing needle marks. No objection to this testimony was made by appellant's counsel. On cross, appellant's counsel went into great detail with Edge about the needle marks. It was at this point that appellant moved for a mistrial on the basis that his character had been improperly put into issue. We find no error. The evidence adduced on direct was relevant to the State's theory of the case, that appellant had injected cocaine. Evidence which is otherwise admissible does not become inadmissible because it incidentally put appellant's character into issue. Calloway v. State, 165 Ga.App. 511, 512, 301 S.E.2d 678 (1983).
3. Appellant argues that the trial court erred in charging the jury that presence of cocaine in the blood of appellant was evidence that he had ingested cocaine and that some time within the immediate past appellant had possessed the cocaine he ingested. The charge is based upon Stevens v. State, 165 Ga.App. 814(1), 302 S.E.2d 724 (1983). Appellant argues that because the representatives of the Georgia Crime Lab testified that the parent compound cocaine was not found in the blood analyzed, and because appellant denied possession, it was an erroneous charge. We do not agree. The record shows that while no parent compound cocaine was found, cocaine metabolites were found in appellant's blood, and that the quantity found suggested that he had ingested a large quantity of cocaine in the 24-hour period preceding the blood test. Further, appellant's co-defendant testified that appellant had ingested cocaine on the night in question. Appellant's reliance on the dissent by Judge Carley in Stevens is unfounded. There, Judge Carley...
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Green v. State
... ... Sparks v. State, 195 Ga.App. 589(1), 394 S.E.2d 407 (1990); Buffington v. State, 190 Ga.App. 365, [260 Ga. 626] 378 S.E.2d 884 (1989); Bentley v. State, 183 ... Ga.App. 112, 358 S.E.2d 274 (1987); Cauthen v. State, 177 Ga.App. 565, 340 S.E.2d 199 (1986); Stevens v. The State, 165 Ga.App ... ...
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Buffington v. State
...of possession of cocaine. [Cit.]" Cauthen v. State, 177 Ga.App. 565, 566, 340 S.E.2d 199 (1986). See also Bentley v. State, 183 Ga.App. 112, 113(3), 358 S.E.2d 274 (1987). Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence produced at trial to authorize any rational trior of fact to find appellant ......
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Whitley v. State, A89A1149
...shows that the court gave further instructions which confined the jury's consideration to the issue of [sale]." Bentley v. State, 183 Ga.App. 112, 113(4), 358 S.E.2d 274 (1987). "When viewed in the context of the full charge of the court we do not find this charge misleading. [Cit.]" Smith ......