State v. Nelson

THIS OPINION
HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN
ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 239(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Melvin Jerome Nelson, Jr., Appellant.

Appeal From York County

 Marc H. Westbrook, Circuit Court Judge

Edward W. Miller, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2008-UP-699

Submitted December 1, 2008 – Filed
December 15, 2008  

AFFIRMED

Appellate Defender Wanda H. Carter, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney
General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott,
and Assistant Attorney General Julie M. Thames, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Kevin
S. Brackett, of Spartanburg, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Melvin
Jerome Nelson, Jr. appeals his conviction for possession with the intent to
distribute crack cocaine arguing the trial judge erred in admitting the opinion
of a lay witness inferring he was a crack cocaine dealer.  We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following authorities: Pye v. Estate of Fox, 369 S.C. 555, 564, 633 S.E.2d 505, 510 (2006) (finding an “issue
cannot be raised for the first time on appeal, but must have been raised to and
ruled upon by the trial court to be preserved”); State v. McCray, 332
S.C. 536, 542, 506 S.E.2d 301, 303 (1998) (finding where an appellate
argument differs from the argument made at trial, the argument is unpreserved
for appeal); Hunt v. S.C. Forestry Comm’n, 358 S.C. 564, 573, 595 S.E.2d
846, 851 (Ct. App. 2004) (finding “[i]ssues raised in a brief but not supported
by authority are deemed abandoned and will not be considered on appeal”).

AFFIRMED.

HEARN, C.J., SHORT and KONDUROS, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to
Rule 215, SCACR.