State v. Coley, 257 N.C. App. 780

On May 29, 2015, Officer Costa stopped Coley for expired tags, smelled marijuana, and asked him to exit the car.
Officers found 11.5 grams of marijuana in two sandwich bags (8.6 g in glove compartment; 2.9 g in center console), a digital scale, an open box of sandwich bags, 23 loose sandwich bags, two partially smoked cigars, and about $800 on Coley.
Coley told officers he kept the scale to verify amounts he bought and that dealers didn’t supply bags, so he provided his own; he said one bag was forgotten and of poor quality.
Coley was indicted for possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia; the jury convicted him after the trial court denied his motions to dismiss.
Coley appealed the denial of the motion to dismiss; the Court of Appeals granted certiorari (despite a defective notice of appeal) and reviewed the sufficiency of the evidence de novo.

Issue	State's Argument	Coley's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana	Packaging (two sandwich bags plus 23 loose bags and an open box), presence of a digital scale, and cash permit an inference of intent to sell	11.5 grams is too small; scale and bags used only to verify personal purchases and because dealers didn’t supply bags	The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the State, was sufficient; trial court did not err in denying the motion to dismiss

State v. Blakney, 233 N.C. App. 516 (evidence of multiple packaged bags, scale, box of bags, and large cash supported intent to sell)
State v. Williams, 71 N.C. App. 136 (packaging into multiple small envelopes supported inference of intent despite modest total weight)
State v. Baxter, 285 N.C. 735 (manner of packaging and quantity can allow jury to infer intent to distribute)
State v. Wilkins, 208 N.C. App. 729 (small quantity and packaging consistent with personal use can be insufficient to infer intent absent other factors)
State v. Nettles, 170 N.C. App. 100 (small quantity and minimal paraphernalia consistent with user rather than seller)