Williams v. State

Anthony Williams appeals from his conviction for possession of cocaine, contending that the trial court gave a misleading, incomplete and reversibly erroneous instruction in response to a jury question during deliberations. 1 We agree and reverse.

The underlying facts may be summarized as follows:

In the evening of July 23, 2013, police officers observed an individual pass an item into a vehicle. Williams was the passenger of this vehicle, which was being driven by Kynan Atkins. The officers observed the item being passed to, and handled by, both Atkins and Williams. Officers believed that the…