United States v. Glenn

Gary Glenn (defendant) was pulled over by a park ranger for driving erratically in a national park. During the traffic stop, the ranger found a jar of hand-rolled cigarettes that contained phencyclidine in the car, and Glenn subsequently tested positive for phencyclidine. The ranger also found several plastic bags of marijuana in the pocket of a coat in the car and 16 other plastic bags of marijuana, a box of empty plastic bags, a small scale, a packet of cigarette rolling papers, and a map of the area with handwritten numbers that seemingly reflected earnings in a toolbox in the car. Glenn was pulled over on a day when the park’s employees were paid and had several hundred dollars with him in the car despite being unemployed at the time. Glenn was arrested and charged with various drug crimes, including possession with intent to distribute marijuana. At trial, an expert testified that the 185 grams of marijuana found in Glenn’s car far exceeded the amount an individual would typically have for personal use. Glenn claimed that he had purchased such a large amount of marijuana for personal use because the price was good and used the scale to verify the amount purchased. Glenn further explained that the money in his possession had come from working odd jobs and receiving a tax refund. The jury convicted Glenn, and Glenn appealed, arguing that the evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Glenn intended to distribute the marijuana.