Fields v. State

932 S.W.2d 97, 1996 WL 144245
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 18, 1996
Docket12-93-00283-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 932 S.W.2d 97 (Fields v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fields v. State, 932 S.W.2d 97, 1996 WL 144245 (Tex. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

RAMEY, Chief Justice.

A jury convicted Jimmie Fields, Jr., (“Fields”) of the offense of aggravated possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine. The jury assessed punishment at life imprisonment and a $100,000 fine. Fields appeals, raising eleven points of error. We will affirm.

Fields’ sixth point of error challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction, and we will address that point first. Fields asserts that the evidence was insufficient because the State did not prove that he exercised care, custody, control or management over the cocaine found in the vehicle he was occupying, nor that he knew that the substance was cocaine.

Trooper Bruce Roberts (“Roberts”), a 19 year veteran with the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”), testified that on the afternoon of March 15, 1993, as he entered the ramp onto Interstate 30 (“1-30”), a beige/ gold Lincoln Continental Towncar passed him at a high rate of speed. Roberts, who was driving his DPS vehicle and accompanied by citizen observers Frank Bell and his niece, pursued the Lincoln. He clocked it at 61 miles per hour in a 50 mile per hour zone where construction was in progress. Once through the construction area, Roberts activated his overhead flashing lights and sig-nalled the Lincoln to stop, which it did. As Roberts exited his vehicle, he noticed that *101 the Lincoln bore an Avis rental car sticker and that there were two people in the vehicle. Roberts approached the driver, later identified as Larry Johnson (“Johnson”), and asked to see his driver’s license; instead, Johnson handed him a “Malibu Gran Prix” racing license. When Roberts asked him if he had a valid driver’s license, Johnson appeared nervous, moved his head around a lot, and stated that he had one but he was not sure where it was. Johnson then conducted a cursory search between the seats and reached for the glove box, explaining that he was looking for his license. As Roberts waited, he noted that there was no luggage in the car’s interior. Unable to find his license in the glove box, Johnson began to look for it in the trunk. Roberts accompanied him to the rear of the car. Upon opening the trunk, Roberts observed three items: a small sports bag, a garment bag, and a pair of silver-tipped boots. Johnson then began rifling through the sports bag. With regard to Johnson’s search of the first bag, Roberts testified: “Again, he was looking in it real rapidly. I don’t see how he could have found anything if it was in there. He went through it real fast.” Next, Johnson opened the garment bag which he stated belonged to the passenger, Fields. When Roberts asked him why his license would be in the passenger’s garment bag, Johnson grew visibly more nervous.

Johnson never found his license, so at Roberts’ request, Bell, who had accompanied Roberts, took down Johnson’s correct name and date of birth. Roberts testified, however, that because Johnson was so nervous and stuttering so badly, it took Roberts quite awhile to get Johnson’s correct name and date of birth from him. Roberts stated that it was obvious to him that something was wrong. When asked from where they had been travelling, Johnson informed Roberts that they had been in Grand Prairie, Texas, for five days helping Johnson’s uncle level a house. Roberts then approached Fields who produced a Tennessee Driver’s License correctly identifying him as Jimmie Fields, Jr. When asked, Fields informed Roberts that his girlfriend had rented the Lincoln for them.

After talking with Fields, Roberts returned to his patrol vehicle to run computerized driver’s license and criminal history checks on both men. From these inquiries, Roberts learned that Fields’ driver’s license had been suspended; consequently, he called for back up assistance and placed Johnson under arrest for driving while license suspended. Shortly thereafter, Trooper Jeff Maeker arrived, and Roberts informed him that he believed the occupants were transporting drugs in the Lincoln. Roberts explained to Maeker that Johnson had been acting extremely nervous, was shifting his weight from one side to the other, and would not look at him. Roberts stated, however, that Johnson said there were no drugs in the Lincoln and that they could search the car if they wanted to.

Roberts then informed Fields as to why they had arrested Johnson. He also asked Fields where they had been. Fields told Roberts that they had been in Grand Prairie looking for a site for his home. He then attempted to show Roberts a set of plans. When asked if there were any drugs in the car, Fields replied “no” and invited Roberts to search the Lincoln. When further backup support arrived, Roberts informed Fields and Johnson that he suspected that they were carrying drugs, and they would take the Lincoln to the Hopkins County’s Sheriffs Office to search it. Neither suspect protested.

Bell then drove the Lincoln to the Sheriffs office where he and Trooper Boggs stayed with the vehicle while Roberts went with the vehicle occupants inside the office. While Roberts was inside, he was notified by another officer that drugs had been found under the hood of the Lincoln. Roberts then went into the sally port, where he was handed a bag that had been removed from the hood of the vehicle and which contained State’s exhibits 1-A, 1-B and 1-C. At trial, Roberts identified State’s exhibit 2 as the same bag that had been removed from the Lincoln on March 15, 1993. Roberts also identified State’s several exhibits as items found inside the Lincoln during an inventory search.

Exhibit 13, a container of air freshener, was identified as an item Roberts found un *102 der the seat of the car the day following the arrests. With regard to that exhibit, Roberts testified that because the Lincoln was to be picked up by the rental company, he had to determine that all of the parties’ belongings had been retrieved from the vehicle. These items consisted of two beepers — one of which may not have been in Roberts’ possession — two pagers which he already had in his possession, a radar detector, luggage and a pair of boots. He further stated that in checking the vehicle’s interior, he found the container of air freshener under the passenger’s seat which had been occupied by Fields and which had not been listed on the vehicle inventory form. Roberts thus testified that he retrieved the air freshener and possibly one of two beepers that had been listed on the inventory along with the parties’ luggage and boots. Roberts stated that because the duffle bag of drugs found under the hood had emitted a strong perfume smell, he deduced that the air freshener was the scent used to mask the drugs’ odor and was thus evidence in the case.

On cross-examination, Roberts testified that neither scales nor other drug paraphernalia was found in the Lincoln, and neither suspect attempted to escape. Moreover, he testified that while Johnson was shaking quite a bit, it was cold and misty outside while he was questioning the occupants.

Frank Bell, a citizen who often rode with Roberts on patrol, testified that after the arrest, at Roberts’ direction, he drove the Lincoln to the sally port of the Hopkins County Jail. Bell testified that he neither put anything in nor took anything out of the Lincoln, but he stated that he was present when the drugs were found under the hood of the Lincoln.

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Bluebook (online)
932 S.W.2d 97, 1996 WL 144245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fields-v-state-texapp-1996.