Sage Tyler Nutt v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided July 26, 2018·No. 01-17-00221-CR·Published

Opinion

Opinion issued July 26, 2018.

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

is a material variance between the allegations in the indictment and the evidence presented at trial; and (b) it is not clear how much of the controlled substance was discovered in his possession; (2) the trial court abused its discretion by admitting an unauthenticated exhibit into evidence; (3) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that a confidential informant’s testimony must be independently corroborated; and (4) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that Nutt had to know that the substance was not marihuana. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Background

Nutt was arrested and charged by indictment with the first-degree felony offense of delivery of a controlled substance equal to or greater than 4 grams but less than 400 grams, Penalty Group 2. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.113(a) & (d) (West 2017).

Specifically, the indictment alleged that Nutt “knowingly deliver[ed], by actual transfer, constructive transfer and offer to sell, to [William Moorman, a confidential informant], a controlled substance, namely, tetrahydrocannabinol, in an amount of four grams or more but less than 400 grams.” The indictment also indicates that the charge is a first-degree felony offense, pursuant to Health & Safety Code section 481.113(d). Tetrahydrocannabinol is commonly referred to as THC.

Officer Ocanas, a narcotics investigator with the Brenham Police Department, testified that his confidential informant, Moorman, had arranged to purchase $100

worth of hashish from Nutt at the Brenham Saddle Shop as part of a “controlled buy.” The day of the drug deal, Officer Ocanas and two other officers met Moorman at a predetermined location where Officer Ocanas instructed Moorman about the specifics of the purchase and gave him a marked $100 bill. The officers also equipped Moorman’s vehicle with an audio recording device that broadcasted real- time audio to the officers’ vehicle and a small digital surveillance camera was hidden on Moorman’s body.

Officer Ocanas and the other officers followed Moorman’s vehicle to the Brenham Saddle Shop and parked at a distance so that Nutt would not see them. According to Officer Ocanas, he saw Nutt walk out from behind the shop and approach Moorman’s vehicle.1 He also heard audio being broadcasted from inside Moorman’s vehicle that was consistent with his observations. Officer Ocanas then followed Moorman to another predetermined location where Ocanas recovered the cameras from Moorman, along with a plastic baggy. Officer Ocanas testified that Moorman was supposed to purchase hashish from Nutt and that, based on his experience, the baggy he retrieved from Moorman appeared to contain hashish. Officer Ocanas sent the baggy to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s laboratory for forensic analysis.

1 The video recorded by a camera in the officers’ vehicle and the audio recording by the device placed in Moorman’s car were admitted into evidence, and Nutt is not challenging the admissibility of either recording on appeal.

The State offered State’s Exhibit 2 into evidence during Officer Ocanas’s testimony. The officer explained that State’s Exhibit 2 was the audio and video recording captured by the camera hidden on Moorman’s body. According to Officer Ocanas, the camera captured everything that occurred from the time they placed the camera on Moorman until they recovered the camera from him after the drug deal. The video shows Officer Ocanas giving instructions to Moorman prior to the drug deal and the inside of Moorman’s vehicle as he is driving to meet Nutt at the shop. The video also shows Nutt, who is standing beside the passenger window of Moorman’s vehicle, hand something to Moorman with one hand and take what appears to be cash from Moorman with his other hand. The audio also captures a brief exchange of pleasantries between Nutt and Moorman, during which time Moorman tells Nutt, “Here you go, man.” Nutt tells Moorman he appreciates it and concludes by saying, “Later, man.”

Officer Ocanas testified that the camera hidden on Moorman’s body was a device capable of making accurate recordings. He further testified that he was competent to operate the camera, and that he could identify all the voices captured by the recording. Officer Ocanas also testified that: (1) he reviewed the recording; (2) the recording had not been altered or changed in any manner; (3) the recording was a fair and accurate representation of the transaction; and (4) the events depicted in the recording were consistent with his personal observations.

Moorman testified that he arranged to purchase hashish from Nutt. After meeting with the officers, he drove to the Brenham Saddle Shop. According to Moorman, Nutt walked up to the vehicle’s window, he handed Nutt some money, and then Moorman drove off. Moorman also testified that he had originally inquired about buying marihuana from Nutt, but Nutt told him that he did not have any marihuana and he offered to sell Moorman hashish instead.

Forensic scientist Henry Amen testified that the substance Officer Ocanas retrieved from Moorman contained “pure THC,” as well as some plant material, and it had an aggregate weight of 4.48 grams. Amen could not say how much of the 4.48 grams was attributable to the THC. When asked to explain the difference between THC and marihuana, Amen testified that marihuana is a green, leafy plant material, whereas THC is an oily or sticky viscous substance extracted from the marihuana plant. According to Amen, THC and marihuana are not the same thing because one is a plant and the other is an oil.

Sergeant Bennett, a drug-recognition expert, testified that although marihuana and hashish are both controlled substances that contain THC, marihuana and hashish are not the same thing. Marihuana is “the plant itself, the stem, the leaves, the buds, the flora,” and hashish is the resin extracted from the leaves of the buds of the marihuana plant. Marihuana is measured in pounds, whereas hashish is measured in grams. Bennett further explained that the law classifies marihuana and hashish

differently because hashish, which is the “purest form of the THC,” provides the user with a “harder, longer, stronger” high than marihuana.

After the State closed its case, Nutt moved for a directed verdict on the ground that the indictment was materially and fatally defective because it alleged that he sold and delivered “tetrahydrocannabinol,” and the phrase tetrahydrocannabinol, without more, includes marihuana. Relying on the Court of Criminal Appeals’ 1979 opinion, Few v. State, Nutt argued that a charging instrument alleging possession of THC, without more, fails to allege an offense under state law, i.e., the felony offense of “tetrahydrocannabinols other than marijuana,” and it “fails to state the elements essential to determine the jurisdiction of the court to try the case and the range of punishment which may be assessed.” 588 S.W.2d 578, 585 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979). Notably, Nutt did not argue that he did not have notice of the charge against him such that he could not prepare an adequate defense, i.e., he did not know if he was being charged with delivering marihuana or tetrahydrocannabinol other than marihuana, or that he faced the possibility of a second prosecution based on the same offense as a result of the alleged variance. The trial court denied Nutt’s motion for directed verdict.

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