MARION—The third district Court of Appeals recently ruled on an appeal filed after a Marion man was convicted in the Marion County Common Pleas Court.

Peter Lloyd Harris, 23, of Marion, was convicted of possession of fentanyl, a felony of the first degree.

Harris, who opted for a bench trial presided over by Marion County Common Pleas Court Judge W.T. Edwards, was sentenced to 16 1/2 years in prison in December.

In his appeal, Harris contended just one issue. He claimed that the evidence presented was insufficient to convict him because there was no facial recognition made at trial.

The function of the appellate court is to review the sufficiency of the evidence present at trial. Facial recognition of Harris was not made by the officers in question.

According to the ruling, Officer Dylan Reece of the Marion Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle. Reece’s emergency lights were activated, but the vehicle sped away. Reece pursued the vehicle. Eventually, a person fled the vehicle. Reece put out a description of a male wearing dark pants and a white shirt. The suspect fled the vehicle. Reece gave chase, but the suspect evaded capture.

Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Griffin heard the description and observed a man fitting the description in the area. Deputy Griffin apprehended the man and noted that he seemed “exhausted.” Griffin also noted that the man identified later as Harris as the only person in the area that matched Reece’s description. Officer Reece identified Harris as the person he had been chasing.

Meanwhile, Major Christy Utley was in the area and also heard the description of the person Reece had been pursuing. Soon after, she observed a person matching the description come around a corner and discard an object later identified as fentanyl. She exited her cruiser and monitored the item that had been discarded.

Although in court there was no testimony of Harris’ facial features, officers did testify as to the clothing, location of the suspect, and the timing of the event.

In their unanimous decision, the Appeals Court noted that Harris was found in the vicinity, tired, breathing hard, and wearing clothing similar to those identified by officers.

Most importantly, the court ruled that circumstantial evidence can be used to prove the identity of an offender.

Harris’ conviction and sentence stand. His expected release date is July of 2031.