Merritt v. Commonwealth

I concur in the majority’s conclusion that Merritt’s argument regarding his motion to suppress was not preserved and in the denial of the motion to set aside the verdict for after-discovered evidence. However, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s reversal of the convictions. Reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, Commonwealth v. Hudson, 265 Va. 505, 514, 578 S.E.2d 781, 786 (2003), I disagree the evidence was insufficient for the jury to conclude Merritt was guilty.

Merritt and Bolton arrived at a bus station known as a major pipeline of narcotics into…