Johnson v. State

737 S.W.2d 923
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 15, 1987·No. 09 86 119 CR·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinions

OPINION

BROOKSHIRE, Justice.

Appeal from a conviction for the delivery of a controlled substance, to-wit: cocaine. In a juried proceeding, a verdict of guilty was returned. The jury fixed a punishment of 20 years in the Texas Department of Corrections and, additionally, assessed a fine of $20,000.

Appellant was indicted in Liberty County on October 23,1985, charged with the delivery of cocaine in the aggregate amount exceeding 400 grams. The indictment alleged both an actual transfer and a constructive transfer. The actual transfer allegation was abandoned by the State. The case was tried on the constructive transfer allegation.

Before the indictment by the Liberty County Grand Jury, this Appellant was [925]*925also faced with an indictment in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Later, the federal indictment was dismissed on the motion of the government. However, the federal indictment and State indictment arose out of the same transactions or occurrences.

We quote from the Appellant’s brief:

“On October 18, 1984, the Appellant flew into this country a plane load of cocaine. It was approximately seven hundred (700) pounds of 93% to 99% pure cocaine. On October 1, 1984, the Appellant flew into this country approximately fourteen hundred (1400) pounds of marijuana.
“The State’s contention was that Appellant flew into this country the above narcotics for personal gain of thirty thousand ($30,000) dollars and the promise of one hundred fifty thousand ($150,000) dollars for the cocaine.”

The Appellant, with zeal, argues the defenses of entrapment and mistake of fact. Appellant says that he was approached by one Dave Ledford, who turned out to be a government informant. Led-ford had been known to the Appellant in the past and Appellant said that Ledford disliked him immensely. This was because a pilot, recommended by Appellant, had crashed an airplane owned by Dave. We quote, again, from the Appellant’s brief:

“Ledford had been involved in narcotics smuggling for ten (10) years prior to becoming a Government Informant, and the Appellant had on three (3) occasions worked with Ledford smuggling marijuana.
“After the falling out, Ledford and Appellant had not seen each other since 1980.”

After a period of time, according to the accused, Ledford approached him and then the accused agreed to fly in the narcotics. The Appellant was told by Ledford that he would receive $30,000. for the first load of marihuana. Appellant maintains that he was led to believe that he was actually working for the drug enforcement agents and that he was also relying on an earlier immunity agreement. However Ledford, and a special agent named Spasaro, who was definitely identified as a Drug Enforcement Agent, denied just as vehemently that the Appellant was working for the government. We deem a jury issue arose on this matter.

In his first point of error, the Appellant argues that the evidence was insufficient to prove that the Appellant delivered over 400 grams (about 700 pounds) of cocaine by constructively transferring the same. The Appellant admits, in his brief, that the State’s proof was that, on or about October 18, 1984, the Appellant flew in the cocaine, as per instructions — from whom these instructions came was in dispute — and delivered it to an airport in Liberty County. He delivered it, at the airport, to Michael P. Spasaro. From the Appellant’s brief:

“The delivery occurred by the Appellant landing the plane and turning the cocaine over directly to Spasaro and his crew of off-loaders.”

TEX.REV. CIV.STAT.ANN. Art. 4476-15, sec. 1.02(6) (Vernon Supp.1987) provides that a “delivery” includes the “constructive transfer” of a controlled substance. A “constructive transfer” has been defined as a transfer of a controlled substance, either belonging to an individual or under his control, by some other person or agency, at the instance or direction of the individual accused of such a constructive transfer. Henderson v. State, 681 S.W.2d 173 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1984, pet. ref’d); Pulgarin v. State, 635 S.W.2d 195 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1982, no pet.).

There is one phase, or version, of the evidence to the effect that Appellant flew a plane load of cocaine into an airport at Cleveland and exited the plane, leaving it to Spasaro, an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, to off load the “coke”. The record raised a jury issue that Appellant thought Spasaro [926]*926worked for a large drug dealer who was paying the flight money or fee (for the flying in of the cocaine) of $150,000. to Appellant. Spasaro was indeed an undercover agent for the general government of Washington, D.C. We decide the record shows a “constructive transfer.”

Appellant testified that Ledford told him that he (Ledford) was working with the federal government in trying to catch the largest known cocaine smugglers in Houston. Appellant testified that he agreed to fly two round trips to Central and South America and back to Texas, hauling narcotics. Appellant testified that Ledford told him the second load would be confiscated upon arrival by federal drug enforcement agents. Appellant argued that he was lead to believe that he was actually working for the drug enforcement agents. Appellant admitted he flew in a load of cocaine on October 18, 1984, to an airport at Cleveland.

A constructive transfer, under the Controlled Substances Act, includes a transfer of a controlled substance either belonging to the accused or under his direct or indirect control, by some other person or manner at the instance or direction of the accused. Davila v. State, 664 S.W.2d 722 (Tex.Crim.App.1984). See also Rasmussen v. State, 608 S.W.2d 205 (Tex.Crim.App.1980). In Rasmussen, when our Court of Criminal Appeals was called upon to construe the term “constructive transfer”, the Court considered decisions of appellate courts in other states which addressed the same issue. See Rasmussen, at 209-10. One of the cases relied upon in Rasmussen was State v. Guyott, 195 Neb. 593, 239 N.W.2d 781 (1976).

In Guyott, the defendant told an undercover officer about certain drugs in a wastebasket in a restroom. The officer found the drugs in the wastebasket and agreed to pay defendant for them. The Nebraska Supreme Court held that the evidence was sufficient to prove a constructive transfer. See Guyott, supra. The facts in the present case are quite similar to those in Guyott. Appellant left the cocaine in an airplane in order that Spasaro could take physical possession of the drugs, much as the defendant in Guyott left the drugs in a wastebasket so that the transferee could take possession of them. We hold that the evidence was sufficient to prove a constructive transfer from Appellant to Spasaro. Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

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Johnson v. State, 737 S.W.2d 923 (Tex. Ct. App. 1987).

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