State v. Stank

1 Sheldon C. Stank appeals from judgments of conviction and an order denying his motion for post-conviction relief. He raises a variety of contentions. He first claims that the physical evidence seized during a search warrant should have been suppressed because the witness who testified against him at the warrant application hearing was biased against him and possessed information too stale to support probable cause. Stank also claims that the court plainly erred by allowing the State to present bad character evidence in the form of weapons and publications. Finally, he states that the trial evidence did not support two elements of the count charging him with possession with intent to deliver Oxycontin while armed. He insists that no evidence exists to support such an intent to distribute the Oxycontin and that the forensic scientists failure to test both samples of suspected Oxycontin made it impossible for the jury to determine the identity of the drug recovered. We disagree with all of these contentions and affirm. The court issuing the warrant found the witness credible and that his knowledge of ongoing large-scale drug trafficking supported a present finding of probable cause. Moreover, the weapons and reading material were highly relevant for reasons other than casting Stank in a bad light, such that any error in admitting the evidence is not obvious. Finally, we determine that the record supports the possession with intent to deliver charge. The jury had enough evidence to determine the identity of the Oxycontin from two experts use of the Physicians Desk Reference as a presumptive, pharmaceutical identification, subsequent confirmatory testing of a pill in one of the samples, and other circumstantial evidence. We also find ample circumstantial evidence of intent to deliver the Oxycontin.