State v. Kourbelas

CROCKETT, Chief Justice:

Defendant James Kourbelas was convicted by a jury of distribution of a controlled substance. 1 He was sentenced to serve not more than a five-year prison term. The sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation. The issue raised on appeal is whether the evidence of entrapment necessarily creates a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt.

On June 13,1979, the defendant and some friends were boating on Lake Powell in Southern Utah. At the time, one Mark Nelson was working as an undercover narcotics agent for the San Juan County Sheriff’s office and had been…