Goldsby v. State

• Decision Date: 03 March 1988
• Docket Number: No. 75125,75125
• Citation: 367 S.E.2d 84,186 Ga.App. 180
• Parties: GOLDSBY v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

Page 84

367 S.E.2d 84

186 Ga.App. 180

GOLDSBY v. The STATE.

No. 75125.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 3, 1988.

Laura A. Marcantonio, Savannah, for appellant.

Dupont K. Cheney, Dist. Atty., J. Thomas Durden, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.

McMURRAY, Presiding Judge.

Defendant was indicted for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana, in violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. The evidence adduced at trial was as follows:

At about 1:30 p.m. on August 8, 1986, Special Agent Thomas Hill Davis, Jr. of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation interviewed a confidential informant who advised him that defendant, who is from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, "was coming to ... and had been in Claxton[, Georgia] for a couple of days and ... had with him a quantity of rock cocaine that he was going to distribute in this area." The informant also told Agent Davis that defendant was driving a "bluish-gray" Oldsmobile Cutlass "that a black female named ... Ivory Hill and a black male named Charles Harrington would ... be accompanying [defendant]," and that defendant "would either be staying with a black female known as Jackie Elaine Daniels or that [defendant] would be staying at one of the local motels." This informant had not previously provided information to Agent Davis; consequently, he sought to verify the tip through another police informant, who "had been used by [law enforcement officers] on several occasions to help catch some of the local drug dealers." At 2:30 that afternoon the second informant advised Agent Davis "that he had recently, within a few hours, talked with a fellow by the name of Ronnie Roberts ... [who said] that [defendant] was in town and [Ronnie Roberts] showed this informant some rock cocaine ... and he [Ronnie Roberts] told [the second informant] that he got [the rock cocaine] from [defendant]."

From the information provided by the first informant, a local law enforcement officer discovered that "Ivory Hill from Ft. Lauderdale[, Florida] was registered at the Miami Motel [in Claxton, Georgia] in Room 31." A "ride-by surveillance or a spot check" of this room was conducted "on [an] every-fifteen-minute basis" and, at about 4:00 that afternoon, a vehicle matching the description given by the first informant was observed parked in front of the motel room. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle was observed "leaving the Miami Motel traveling south on U.S. 301." The vehicle was stopped by law enforcement officers about 200 to 250 yards from the motel and the passengers, who included "[defendant] of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Ivory Hill of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Charles Harrington of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; and [T.B., a minor], of Claxton, Georgia," were arrested and "patted down" for weapons. None were found. A search of the motel room revealed no weapons or contraband. Defendant and his companions were transported to the Evans County Sheriff's office where a "strip-search" of the suspects revealed no contraband. However, after the suspects were searched, "a small piece" of rock cocaine was discovered falling to the floor from the area where defendant was seated and, after a struggle with defendant, officers discovered several pieces of rock cocaine concealed in defendant's mouth. Defendant was taken to the hospital for medical treatment since it was thought defendant might have swallowed "a lethal dose of cocaine." He was released from the hospital that evening. Three days later, on August 11, 1986, defendant made the following statement to Special Agent John B. Edwards of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation:

" 'I first came up to Georgia last year. I saw how much money I could make. You can make double your money selling rock in Georgia. My uncle, Leandre (phonetic) Williams, got me started in the cocaine business. I found that the people that sell drugs have all the money. I worked real hard, but I just couldn't save money. Something would always come up. So I got in the cocaine business. People would want to get to know me. The drug business is like that. The first time I came to Georgia on my own to deal my own cocaine was about five months ago. Me and Angelo Smith and Willie Shannon came up in a rental car. We bought--brought about an ounce and a half of coke. We had it all in rocks. We sold them around Claxton. Claxton's got a lot of users of rock. The second time I came up, Angelo and Shannon came up with me. I didn't know coke was in the car. This was the time Angelo got busted with the powder. About two or three weeks after that, I came up and brought 40 rocks. I came up again Friday[, August 8, 1986,] and brought 140 or 160 rocks. When I saw the police behind me, I put 60 rocks in my mouth. And that's all I remember. I had fronted Ronnie Roberts ... 40 rocks. I fronted Alexander--last name unknown--some. I came up other times also but didn't bring cocaine. This is my statement of the truth as I know it, given freely and voluntarily to Special Agent Edwards. I have read all three pages.' "

A thorough search of defendant's vehicle revealed several marijuana seeds and a "small amount" of powdered cocaine on the "floorboard" of the back seat.

After the close of evidence, defendant's motion for directed verdict of acquittal was denied, the case was submitted to the jury and defendant was found guilty on both counts of the indictment. This appeal followed. Held:

1. Defendant first contends the trial court erred in admitting into evidence contraband seized pursuant to the warrantless arrest and search of his automobile. "Under Georgia law, an officer may arrest without a warrant 'if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge ... or for other cause if there is likely to be failure of justice for want of a judicial officer to issue a warrant.' OCGA § 17-4-20(a). The constitutional validity of an arrest without a warrant depends 'upon whether, at the moment the arrest was made, the officers had probable cause to make it--whether at that moment the facts and circumstances within their knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information were sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the (suspect) had committed or was committing an offense.' Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91 (85 SC 223, 13 LE2d 142) (1964)." Stola v. State, 182 Ga.App. 502, 503(1), 356 S.E.2d 222. In the case sub judice, defendant argues that there was no probable cause for his arrest because the first informant "had not provided information in the past [and] the information received from the first informant did not set forth sufficient facts from which a magistrate could independently determine the reliability of the information."

"The sufficiency of information obtained from an informant is not to be judged by any rigid test. Generally, probable cause is determined by the 'totality of the circumstances' surrounding (1) the basis of the informant's knowledge and (2) the informant's veracity or reliability. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (103 SC 2317, 76 LE2d 527) (1983). '(A) deficiency in one may be compensated for, in determining the overall reliability of a tip, by a strong showing as to the other, or by some other indicia of reliability.' Id. at 233 ." McKinney v. State, 184 Ga.App. 607, 608(1), 609, 362 S.E.2d 65. In the case sub judice, deficiencies in the basis of the first informant's knowledge and his veracity and reliability were reinforced by corroborating information provided by the second police informant, who had given police officers reliable information in the past, and by the details of the tip, which were corroborated by the personal observations of the investigating police officers shortly before defendant's arrest; i.e., that defendant would be driving a "bluish-gray" Oldsmobile Cutlass, "that a black female named ... Ivory Hill [from...