State v. Barry Williams

THIS
OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS
PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Barry Dewayne Williams, Appellant.

Appeal From Greenwood County

John C. Hayes, III, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2010-UP-010

Submitted January 4, 2010- Filed January
21, 2010   

AFFIRMED

Appellate Defender Elizabeth A.
Franklin-Best, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief
Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Salley W. Elliott, Assistant Attorney General Julie M. Thames, all of Columbia;
and Solicitor Jerry W. Peace, of Greenwood, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Barry Dewayne Williams was convicted of distribution
of crack cocaine and distribution of crack cocaine within proximity of a public
playground or park.  The trial court sentenced Williams to concurrent terms of
thirty years on the distribution charge and fifteen years on the proximity
charge.  Williams appeals arguing the trial court erred in denying his motion
for a directed verdict.  We affirm
pursuant to Rule 220(b),
SCACR and the following authorities:  State
v. Weston, 367 S.C. 279, 292, 625
S.E.2d 641, 648 (2006) ( in ruling on a motion for a directed verdict, a trial
court is concerned with the existence or nonexistence of evidence, not its
weight); State v. McHoney, 344 S.C. 85, 97, 544 S.E.2d 30, 36 (2001)
(noting that, in regard to appellant’s argument the State’s case was based on
unreliable evidence, in ruling on a directed verdict motion the trial court is
concerned with the existence of evidence, not its weight); State v.
Hernandez, 382 S.C. 620, 624, 677 S.E.2d 603, 605 (2009) (on appeal from
the trial court’s denial of a motion for a directed verdict, an appellate court
must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State); State v. Gaster,
349 S.C. 545, 555, 564 S.E.2d 87, 92 (2002) (an appellate court may only
reverse the trial court’s denial of a motion for directed verdict if there is
no evidence to support the trial court’s ruling); State v. Gaines, 380
S.C. 23, 32, 667 S.E.2d 728, 733 (2008) (if there is any direct evidence or any
substantial circumstantial evidence reasonably tending to prove the guilt of
the accused, the appellate court must find the case was properly submitted to
the jury).[1]

AFFIRMED.

HUFF, A.C.J., GEATHERS,
J., and CURETON, A.J., concur.

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