Holland v. the State

780 S.E.2d 40, 334 Ga. App. 600
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedNovember 23, 2015
DocketA15A1301
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 780 S.E.2d 40 (Holland v. the State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holland v. the State, 780 S.E.2d 40, 334 Ga. App. 600 (Ga. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

ELLINGTON, Presiding Judge.

A Gwinnett County jury found Daunte Holland guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of trafficking in cocaine, OCGA § 16-13-31 (a); and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, OCGA § 16-13-30 (j) (1), in violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. Following the denial of his motion for a new trial, Holland appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and contending that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons explained below, we reverse.

1. Holland contends that the State failed to adduce any evidence connecting him to the cocaine or marijuana that he is charged with unlawfully possessing; rather, he argues, the evidence proved no more than his mere presence in the house where the contraband was found during the execution of a search warrant. Based on this, he contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions.

On appeal from a criminal conviction, the appellate court

view[s] the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict[,] and an appellant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. [The appellate court] determines whether the evidence is sufficient under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979), and does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility. Any conflicts or inconsistencies in the evidence are for the jury to resolve. As long as there is some competent evidence, even though contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State’s case, [the appellate court] must uphold the jury’s verdict.

(Citations omitted.) Rankin v. State, 278 Ga. 704, 705 (606 SE2d 269) (2004).

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that, on March 11, 2011, Gwinnett County police officers executed a search warrant at 999 Dallas Way, Lawrenceville. At trial, one officer, who entered the house with a SWAT team to execute the search warrant, testified that Holland was present in the house along with “a young female, Dasmine Holland, Dreshawn Tyler and Davante Holland, as well as a male, James Tab.” The officer testified that Dasmine Holland and Davante Holland are Holland’s children; Dreshawn Tyler is his stepchild; and “James Tab is a friend who was helping [Holland] out at the time due to a leg injury.” The officer summarized [601]*601that the four males found in the house (Holland, Davante Holland, Dreshawn Tyler, and Tab) were all “over the age of 17 and 18.”

That officer, who entered the house through the front door, described the house’s floor plan as follows: the house is a split-level style house; entering from the front door, one enters a living room which has an area at the back set up for playing video games; at the rear of the game area is a sliding glass door leading into the back yard. In the living room, a split set of stairs leads either down into the garage/laundry room area or up to a hallway. The officer testified, “On the right side of the hallway, you have two bedrooms, Dreshawn Tyler’s bedroom and Davante Holland’s bedroom.” The first door on the left side of the hallway is to a half bath; the second door on the left is to the master bedroom. At the end of the hall is a small closet. The master bedroom has an attached bathroom, and inside that bathroom is a set of stairs that lead up to a bonus room. Inside this bonus room is an access door to the attic. A second officer who searched the house testified similarly about the floor plan.

A third officer testified that he assisted in executing the search warrant and was assigned “as a containment on the back side of the house.” Just before the SWAT team entered the house from the front, that officer noticed that the shade was up on “the top left-hand window as you’re facing the back of the house,” and through the window he “could see two people inside the house [,]... an older male and a young female, early teens.” He was able “after the fact” to identify the male as Holland. For 20 to 30 seconds, the officer saw Holland apparently sitting in that room while the girl walked in and out of the officer’s view. That officer “never made it into the house” and never saw the layout of the house — “[j]ust right inside the sliding-glass door is as far as [he] got.” Therefore, he could not identify the room he saw Holland in as the master bedroom, as opposed to any other room, but assumed it was the master bedroom “going by the [first officer’s] drawing” of the floor plan during that officer’s trial testimony.

During the search, the officers found in the master bedroom various quantities of powder and solid cocaine (in many, small plastic baggies), marijuana (also packaged in small baggies), two digital scales, and additional plastic baggies of various sizes. Some of the contraband was found in a drawer; some was found under a mattress or under the bed. In the attic, officers found more packages of powder and solid cocaine, marijuana, and a digital scale. Some of the packages of drugs were lying in various places atop the insulation; more [602]*602drugs and the scale were stuffed inside of a shoe and a boot.1

The State adduced evidence that an undercover officer bought crack cocaine from Holland on two separate occasions in 2001. Holland pled guilty to those charges, and the State tendered a certified copy of his prior convictions at trial. The State proffered the other-acts evidence solely on the issue of intent, and the trial court instructed the jury to limit its consideration of the evidence to that issue.

Holland’s knowing possession of the cocaine found in the master bedroom and in the attic was an essential element of the offense of trafficking in cocaine as charged in the indictment. Cobarrubias-Garcia v. State, 316 Ga. App. 787, 789 (730 SE2d 455) (2012) (physical precedent only).2 Similarly, his knowing possession of the marijuana found in those locations was an essential element of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. See id.3 “Possession of contraband may be actual or constructive.... A person who knowingly has direct physical control over a thing at a given time is in actual possession of it.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Lopez-Vasquez v. State, 331 Ga. App. 570, 572 (1) (771 SE2d 218) (2015). In this case, the State adduced no evidence that Holland had direct physical control over any of the contraband found in the house. Consequently, it is undisputed that he was not in actual possession of the drugs, and the issue before us is whether he was in constructive possession of the drugs.

“A person may be found to have had constructive possession of contraband if it is shown that he had both the power and the intention at a given time to exercise dominion or control over it.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Aquino v. State, 308 Ga. App. 163, 165 (1) (706 SE2d 746) (2011). See Cobarrubias-Garcia v. State, 316 Ga. App. at 789 (accord). But a finding of constructive possession cannot be based upon a defendant’s mere spatial proximity to contraband at a given time; rather “a finding of constructive possession must be based upon some connection between the defendant and the contraband[.]” (Citation omitted.) Stacey v.

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Bluebook (online)
780 S.E.2d 40, 334 Ga. App. 600, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holland-v-the-state-gactapp-2015.