VICTOR LEVON BATEN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Victor Baten was convicted of cocaine possession with intent to sell. Baten appealed arguing insufficient evidence supported the intent-to-sell element, but the appellate court affirmed, finding the evidence—including the amount of cocaine, packaging, the defendant's lack of legitimate income, and expert officer testimony—sufficient to sustain the conviction.
The appellate court affirmed the conviction, holding that the evidence was sufficient to establish intent to sell. The quantity of cocaine (26 rocks total), the packaging in multiple baggies, the uniform commercial street-size denominations, Baten's lack of legitimate income, and the officer's expert testimony about drug dealer practices collectively supported the conviction.
[1] Evidence of the quantity of drugs, their packaging, and the defendant's financial circumstances can support a jury's finding of intent to sell.
[2] The manner in which drugs are possessed, including the number of individual units and their street value, is relevant to determining intent to sell.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Because Baten had so many rocks in two different baggies, of saleable, commercial street size, Davis was convinced Baten intended to sell them, not simply use them.”
Establishes the key evidentiary basis for inferring intent to sell—quantity and packaging in commercial denominations rather than personal use quantities.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOfficer Davis observed Baten burying two baggies of cocaine during a police sweep targeting drug dealers in his neighborhood. The baggies contained 18…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Possession Of Cocaine With Intent To Sell cases and more on FLexlaw
W. SHARP, Judge.
Baten appeals from his sentence and conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to sell.1 He argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for intent to sell, and that the trial court should have granted his motion for judgment of acquittal for that crime. We disagree and affirm.
Baten relies on McCullough v. State, 541 So. 2d 720 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). Even if we agree with McCullough, we think it is distinguishable from this case. In McCullough, the court emphasized that the record before it contained no testimony (other than a lab technician’s) that the amount of cocaine (15 rocks — 61.5 grams) was more than a normal user would carry on his person. The lab technician testified that if the defendant in that case used the cocaine continuously, he had about 62 “doses”, each of which might last from fifteen to thirty minutes. At thirty minutes per dosage, the defendant would have used all the total amount of cocaine he was charged with possessing in approximately one and one-third days, assuming no stopping for sleep or other normal bodily functions.
However, in this case there was additional testimony. Davis, the police officer who arrested Baten, testified he was part of a police “sweep” through Baten’s neighborhood, trying to flush out juvenile drug dealers (primarily young black males) who, according to numerous community complaints, were selling drugs in the area. Ba-ten met that description.
When Baten saw or was warned that the police were approaching, he ran towards Officer Davis, who was hiding out-of-view. Davis saw Baten dig up dirt and bury two baggies. Davis testified that it was not uncommon for dealers in this area to bury their drugs in the dirt.
Davis and another officer apprehended Baten, and Davis uncovered the baggies containing (respectively) eighteen and eight rocks of cocaine. Davis testified he had made over one hundred drug-related arrests. He said it was not uncommon for dealers to carry rocks of cocaine in baggies, not individually wrapped, although the rocks were usually individually wrapped. Baten’s rocks were uniformly sized in the $10.00 to $20.00 per rock range in street prices.
Davis testified that most cocaine “users” carry only three rocks of cocaine on their person, maximum. Because Baten had so many rocks in two different baggies, of saleable, commercial street size, Davis was convinced Baten intended to sell them, not simply use them. Davis also testified he relied for that inference on the fact that Baten was a student, held no job, and had no income, but the value of the cocaine in his possession was, at least, $240.00.
AFFIRMED. COBB, J., concurs.
DAUKSCH, J., dissents without opinion.
. § 893.13(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1989).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Bruce v. State, 616 So. 2d 504 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)…value of the drugs possessed by appellant (thirteen separate packets — eight packets of heroin and five packets of cocaine — worth approximately $470.00) was more consistent with an intent to distribute than with personal use.”); see Baten v. State, 579 So. 2d 764 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991), review denied, 589 So. 2d 289 (Fla.1991); K.J. v. State, 557 So. 2d 134 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). Compare McCullough v. State, 541 So. 2d 720 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989) (small quantity alone insufficient to prove intent to sell); C.L.L. v. S…
-
Antwain Gamble v. State, 644 So. 2d 1376 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)…te v. Law, 559 So. 2d 187, 188 (Fla.1989); Fowler v. State, 492 So. 2d 1344, 1347-48 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), review denied, 503 So. 2d 328 (Fla.1987). Gamble was never seen by any officer with the plastic bag containing the cocaine. Cf. Baten v. State, 579 So. 2d 764 (Fla. 5th DCA) (expert testimony along with the arresting officer’s testimony that Baten was attempting to bury two separate plastic baggies with a total of 26 pieces of rock cocaine was sufficient for conviction), review denied, 589 So. 2d 289 (Fla…1 / 4
-
Eli Scarlett v. State, 704 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…fendant had thirteen rocks, individually wrapped in clear plastic baggies, and the state presented the expert testimony of an experienced narcotics officer who stated that the quantity involved indicated that the crack was for sale); Baten v. State, 579 So. 2d 764 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) (evidence was sufficient to support conviction where officer stated that most cocaine users only carry a maximum of three rocks of cocaine on then-person, and officer was convinced that defendant intended to sell them because he…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Worth Moses McCULLOUGH v. State, 541 So. 2d 720 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)