United States v. Gibbs

HARRY T. EDWARDS, Circuit Judge:

Appellants, Harold Bennett, Ronald Gibbs, Bruce Johnson, and Randy Whitehead, were each found guilty of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine, following their arrest during which officers seized 15.5 grams of crack cocaine, firearms, and ammunition. Appellants raise several issues on appeal, most notably that the evidence was insufficient to convict them and that the trial judge’s refusal to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of mere possession was error. Because we find that the trial judge erred in refusing to…