State v. Ayers, 958 N.E.2d 222

Nesbitt Ayers was convicted of trafficking in marijuana in a bench trial after being arrested in a high-drug-activity area when an alleged hand-to-hand transfer occurred.
Officer Coberly observed Ayers hand something to David Dewberry in an RTA bus shelter; the item was small and its nature was not visible.
Dewberry was later found to have 1.2 grams of marijuana in his pocket and gave a statement suggesting Ayers supplied it.
Ayers argued he did not sell or give him marijuana; Dewberry testified he did not buy or receive marijuana from Ayers, but a written statement claimed otherwise.
The trial court found Ayers guilty of trafficking in marijuana and sentenced him to five years of community-control sanctions.
On appeal, the court addressed whether there was sufficient evidence of a sale or gift and whether the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence, and whether the transaction could be characterized as a sale or a gift for sentencing purposes.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence whether Ayers sold/gave marijuana	Ayers argues no sale or transfer occurred.	State asserts there was a transfer that qualifies as sale or gift.	Partially sustained; remanded for factual determination if the transfer was a sale or a gift and for sentencing accordingly.
Weight of the evidence	State contends the evidence supports the conviction.	Ayers contends the verdict is against the manifest weight.	Overruled; conviction not against the manifest weight.

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (sufficiency standard requires proof beyond reasonable doubt)
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (Ohio 1967) (credibility and weight are determinations for the trier of fact)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (the proper test for sufficiency review)