Watt v. State

732 S.E.2d 96, 317 Ga. App. 551, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 2711, 2012 WL 3740623, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 756
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedAugust 30, 2012
DocketA12A1386
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 732 S.E.2d 96 (Watt v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watt v. State, 732 S.E.2d 96, 317 Ga. App. 551, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 2711, 2012 WL 3740623, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 756 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Doyle, Presiding Judge.

Following a jury trial, Alphanso Watt appeals his conviction for trafficking in marijuana,1 arguing that there was insufficient evi[552]*552dence to corroborate the testimony of his alleged accomplice and that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress and by admitting similar transaction evidence. We affirm, for the reasons that follow.

On appeal the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to support the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence; moreover, an appellate court determines evidence sufficiency and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility.2

So viewed, the evidence shows that on August 17, 2009, Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) agents in Tucson, Arizona, were contacted by the local manager of Old Dominion Freight Lines about a suspicious crate being shipped to Douglas County, Georgia. A DEA agent determined that the package contained marijuana and contacted law enforcement officials in Douglas County to arrange for a controlled delivery of the crate to Old Dominion loading docks there.

The crate arrived on August 19, 2009, and Sergeant Mauney of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office secured the package. A K-9 unit was deployed to perform a free-air sniff, and a dog signaled the presence of narcotics in the crate. After the dog’s alert, police obtained a search warrant.

The day the crate arrived, Old Dominion received a call inquiring about it. Acting as an employee, Mauney told the caller the crate would not be delivered until the next day but that the caller could retrieve the crate from the warehouse instead if he wanted to do so. There were two other calls inquiring about the crate; Mauney testified he believed all three calls were made by the same person. During the third call, the caller said he would arrive shortly to pick up the crate.

Within 20 minutes, law enforcement agents stationed at the Old Dominion warehouse observed a silver Toyota Camry and a gold Ford pickup truck parked in the road just outside the gated entrance to the property. The occupants of the vehicles were observed engaging in conversation before driving up the driveway to the loading docks and parking outside the warehouse office. There, two individuals talked outside of the vehicles while one remained inside; law enforcement was unable to identify them at a distance. The driver of the truck, later identified as Oswald Forsyth, entered the office and claimed the [553]*553crate, while the Camry left the premises. Officers present at the scene recorded the license plate number of the Camry. As soon as Forsyth took possession of the crate, law enforcement approached and took him into custody. The crate contained five large bales of marijuana, totaling approximately 150 pounds.

Officers then issued a “be on the lookout” alert (“BOLO”) for the silver Toyota Camry with the last four digits of the recorded license plate number pulling out onto Riverside Parkway where the Old Dominion property was located. Deputy Aaron Smith responded immediately to the BOLO and spotted a silver Camry leaving a nearby neighborhood recreation center. The driver turned in the opposite direction upon seeing the police car, and Smith followed the Camry for two miles, confirmed the license plate number and vehicle description on the BOLO, and initiated a traffic stop. Only five to ten minutes had elapsed from the issuance of the BOLO to the time Smith stopped the Camry.

Watt, who was driving the Camry, and the passenger were placed in handcuffs and taken into custody. A search of the Camry revealed various tools in the trunk, including a blue crowbar, hammers, screwdrivers, and a cordless electric drill. Investigator Randy Folsom testified at trial that those were the types of tools that could have been used to open the crate. Watt’s father-in-law, who owned the Camry, testified that the tools were his, but he also said his crowbar was black and that he owned a Black and Decker cordless drill; the tools found in the car only included a blue crowbar and a Craftsman drill.

Forsyth, Watt’s brother-in-law, testified at trial that Watt asked to borrow his truck on August 20, 2009, in order to pick up a package. According to Forsyth, Watt instructed him to pick up the crate from the Old Dominion facility and said that they would switch vehicles after Forsyth had done so.

Following a jury trial, Watt was convicted of the alleged charge, and this appeal followed.

1. Watt argues that the there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction because the only evidence connecting him with the crime was the testimony of an alleged accomplice. We disagree.

“The testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact. However,... where the only witness is an accomplice, the testimony of a single witness is not sufficient.”3 “And as the Supreme Court of Georgia has further noted, the corroboration rule [554]*554of OCGA § 24-4-8 is made more stringent by the requirement, not contained in the statute, that the [S]tate must provide corroboration of an accomplice’s testimony regarding the identification and participation of the defendant.”4

The conduct of a defendant before, during the time of, and after the commission of a crime may be considered by the jury in establishing his intention and his participation, to determine whether or not such intention and conduct were sufficient corroboration of the testimony of an accomplice to sustain a conviction. This may be done by circumstantial as well as by direct evidence.5

Here, the evidence offered by the State corroborated Forsyth’s testimony. Less than 15 minutes after Forsyth was arrested, Watt — Forsyth’s brother-in-law — was pulled over in the same vehicle that was present at the scene immediately before Forsyth retrieved the crate from the warehouse. Deputy Smith testified that it appeared as if Watt was “waiting for something” at the recreation center entrance, which corroborates Forsyth’s testimony that he and Watt planned to switch vehicles after taking delivery of the crate. Finally, the Camry that Watt was driving contained various tools that could have been used to open a large wooden crate. This evidence was sufficient to corroborate Forsyth’s testimony regarding Watt’s involvement.6

2. Watt argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress because Deputy Smith’s stop of Watt’s vehicle was not predicated on a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity. This enumeration is without merit.

On appeal from a motion to suppress, the evidence is viewed in a light most favorable to upholding the trial court’s judgment. The credibility of witnesses and the weight accorded their testimony rest with the trier of fact. Thus, the trial court’s findings on disputed facts and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous. Where the evidence is uncontroverted and there is no issue as to witness credibil[555]*555ity, however, we review de novo the trial court’s application of the law to the undisputed facts.7

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
732 S.E.2d 96, 317 Ga. App. 551, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 2711, 2012 WL 3740623, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watt-v-state-gactapp-2012.