State of Tennessee v. Arthur Pirtle

In May 2005, the defendant, Arthur Pirtle, was indicted by a Marshall County grand jury on one count of possession of more than .5 gram of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (cocaine), a Class B felony, and one count of Simple Possession, a Class A misdemeanor. In June 2006, a jury trial was held in Marshall County Circuit Court. At the conclusion of the trial, the defendant was convicted of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance but acquitted on the simple possession charge. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to twenty-seven years in prison as a Range III, persistent offender. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. After reviewing the record, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and therefore affirm the ruling of the trial court.