State of Arizona v. Kevin Ottar and Ruan Junior Hamilton

OPINION

PELANDER, Justice.

¶ 1 In a “reverse-sting” operation, undercover law enforcement officers sell drugs or other contraband to unsuspecting purchasers. The issue here is whether purchasers who handle and pay for drugs in a reverse sting, but do not and would not have been allowed to take them away, can be said to “possess” drugs for sale. Contrary to the purchasers’ argument, we conclude that it is possible to commit the offense of possessing drugs for sale under these circumstances.

I

¶2 An undercover detective arranged to sell a large quantity of marijuana to defendants Ruan Hamilton and…