Denial of a motion for a bindover & dismissal of a possession of cocaine charge; Sufficiency of the evidence; Possession of 50 or more, but less than 450, grams of cocaine; Probable cause

Holding that “the district court abused its discretion when it denied the prosecution’s motion for a bindover and dismissed the possession of cocaine charge against defendant,” the court reversed “the circuit court’s affirmance order and the district court’s dismissal order and” remanded to the district court. The court held that the “totality of the circumstantial evidence presented at the preliminary examination established defendant’s knowledge of the cocaine as well as a legally sufficient connection between defendant, the vehicle, and the cocaine therein.” Stated otherwise, the evidence was “‘sufficient to cause a person of ordinary prudence and caution to conscientiously entertain a reasonable belief’ that defendant constructively possessed the cocaine because he was the person who had secreted it.” The court concluded that because “the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to establish probable cause to believe that defendant had knowledge of and constructive possession over the cocaine in the vehicle, the district court abused its discretion when it denied the prosecution’s motion for bindover and dismissed the possession of cocaine charge.”