McCloud v. State

353 Ga.App. 614

838 S.E.2d 914

MCCLOUD

v.The STATE.

A19A1944

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

February 13, 2020

April A. Weeks, for Appellant.

Christian Lee Brown, Bradford Lee Rigby, Albany, for Appellee.

McFadden, Chief Judge.

The issue in this appeal is whether the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of marijuana found during the defendant’s arrest.

Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence as part of the circumstances surrounding the arrest, we affirm.

1. Facts and procedural posture.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.E.2d 560 (1979), the evidence shows that on the night of October 20, 2015, Vontavious McCloud was driving a car in Cordele, Georgia when he was stopped by a police officer for failing to use a turn signal. When other officers at the scene saw drug paraphernalia in the car, the officer who had made the traffic stop asked McCloud to get out of the vehicle. McCloud then shifted the car into gear and sped away from the scene. The officer who had made the stop got back in his police car and pursued McCloud. After running through a stop sign, McCloud eventually stopped the car, got out of it, and fled on foot. The officer stopped his car and ran after McCloud, but was unable to catch him.

Upon returning to his car, the officer discovered that McCloud had left his abandoned vehicle in reverse and it had rolled back and struck the officer’s parked car. Police searched the abandoned vehicle and inside it they found, among other things, small bags of marijuana, a pill bottle containing methamphetamine, a digital scale, a pipe, a wad of cash, and a notebook with an apparent list of drug customers. While the officers were searching the vehicle, McCloud’s mother arrived at the scene and told the officers that it was her car and that McCloud had in fact been using the car that night.

Approximately two months later, police went to the mother’s house to execute an arrest warrant for McCloud. The mother consented to the officers entering her house and pointed them to McCloud’s room. McCloud was not in his room, but the officers found him hiding in a bathroom shower and placed him under arrest. The officers also found various items in plain view in the bedroom, including marijuana in a small plastic bag, marijuana seeds, clear plastic bags, and a box for a digital scale.

Based on the drugs found in the car, McCloud was charged by accusation with possessing both methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to distribute. He was also charged with a turn signal violation, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and failing to stop at a stop sign. The case proceeded to a trial before a jury, which found McCloud guilty of all charged offenses. The trial court imposed a total sentence of 30 years, with 15 years to be served in confinement and the remainder on probation. McCloud filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. This appeal followed.

2. Admission of evidence found during arrest.

McCloud contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the marijuana and...