Welch v. StateWelch v. State
Lonnie Welch was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. Welch appeals from the judgment of conviction and denial of his motion for new trial.
The evidence at trial showed that on the afternoon of Welch’s arrest, Eatonton police received an anonymous telephone call indicating an individual named “Dolly Foo Foo” was selling drugs in a bar called the Sunset Club. The chief of police, who knew Dolly Foo Foo was an alias of Welch, responded to the call and drove to the Sunset Club. As he approached the Sunset Club, which was located in an area known for crime and drug activity, the police chief saw Welch exiting the bar. As Welch walked across the parking lot and down the street, the police chief followed in his patrol car. The police chief testified that when Welch turned onto a path, “I had done got pretty *413 close up on him. I pulled right in between the Sonny Boy’s Club and the branch and hollered out the window and we went up the path. I went up the path with the car. I said Foo Foo. He immediately turned around. His right hand came out of his right pocket and a white object left his right arm and went landing into the bushes. At that time, I told him to put his hands on the hood of the car and called for [another officer to come to the scene].” When the other officer arrived, he retrieved the white object, a white pill bottle containing 33 rocks of suspected cocaine. The officer arrested Welch and found $310.37 in small bills in his pocket. The substance in the pill bottle subsequently tested positive for cocaine.
1. Prior to trial, Welch moved the court to suppress all evidence of the cocaine, arguing it was the product of an unlawful search and seizure. In his first enumeration of error, Welch contends the trial court erred in denying the motion. Welch argues that since the anonymous telephone tip was insufficient to justify his initial stop, the cocaine that was obtained as a result of that stop should have been suppressed. However, in this case we need not determine the sufficiency of the anonymous telephone tip because the cocaine was not discovered as a result of a seizure of Welch, unlawful or otherwise.
“That police receive information which does not amount to probable cause does not require them to shrug their shoulders and make no inquiry, but rather the circumstances may justify investigation. [Cit.]”
State v. Smalls,
In this case, there is no evidence that police seized Welch prior to the time he threw the cocaine to the ground. Welch does not contend he believed he was not free to leave. The police chief did not display any weapons, did not conduct himself in an intimidating or threatening manner, and the encounter took place in public during daylight hours. The only conduct that precipitated Welch throwing the cocaine to the ground was the police chief calling out the name “Foo Foo.” “As for the substance identified as cocaine, [Welch] affirmatively abandoned it by throwing it [to the ground] as the [police chief]-ap
*414
proached, thereby placing it within plain view. . . .”
State v. Howell,
*414
2. Welch also asserts the trial court erred in admitting into evidence the entire contents of the bottle when only one of the thirty-three pieces was analyzed for the presence of cocaine. Welch argues that since the other 32 pieces of suspected cocaine were not analyzed, they were not relevant to the case. “ ‘Admission of evidence rests in the trial court’s sound discretion; and evidence should be admitted if it is admissible for any legitimate purpose.’ ”
Stevens v. State,
3. Finally, citing
Edge v. State,
Judgment affirmed.