State v. Greene

600 P.2d 140, 100 Idaho 464, 1979 Ida. LEXIS 477
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 24, 1979
Docket12539
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 600 P.2d 140 (State v. Greene) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Greene, 600 P.2d 140, 100 Idaho 464, 1979 Ida. LEXIS 477 (Idaho 1979).

Opinion

BISTLINE, Justice.

Subsequent to a surveillance, a search warrant was obtained and a search for illegal drugs was conducted on the premises where defendant-appellant Greene, Pam McCartan and Carol Delany resided. The officers seized drugs later identified as marijuana and heroin along with drug-related *465 paraphernalia. When Greene was arrested and asked to sign a form listing the items seized, Greene refused, volunteering that “he knew about the marijuana, but he didn’t know anything about the heroin.” A complaint was filed charging the three with two violations of I.C. § 37-2732, possession of a controlled substance. By Count I, possession of more than 3 ounces of marijuana was charged. By Count II possession of heroin was charged. McCartan and Delany were each bonded out for $1,000. McCartan did not appear thereafter. Greene and Delany both pleaded not guilty and were tried in district court. Neither defendant testified.

Physical evidence adduced at trial tending to incriminate Greene was: papers or bills containing Greene’s name and listing as his address the premises searched, a photograph of Greene and Delany taken on the premises; three spoons and cotton of a type commonly used by heroin addicts, hidden in the bathroom; a bag of marijuana found hidden in the kitchen; a bag of lactose similar to that used as a dilutant with heroin plus sifters and two funnels found in the pantry. Found in the back bedroom were: a purse containing a pharmaceutical bottle with the name of Pam McCartan plus a bill or agreement in her name giving the premises searched as her address; a bag of marijuana; a cup containing marijuana leaf material and seeds; a whiskey bottle modified as a smoking device and a cigarette rolling device. Outside the building, the officer found a glass jar containing 26 heroin-filled balloons, concealed under a burlap sack covering a hole in the foundation.

The testimony of officer Bottger, which the jury was at liberty to believe, together with the inferences to be drawn therefrom, was that on approaching the premises from the back, Greene was about 30-45 feet away “stooping over an opening of the foundation of the residence” with his arms outstretched and his hands approximately 6-8 inches from the burlap where the heroin was subsequently discovered and seized; this opening was about four feet from the back stairs and when asked to sign the itemized list, Greene refused and made the incriminating statement referred to above.

On cross-examination, Bottger testified: he didn’t see Greene move the burlap; the bottle was tested for fingerprints and no positive identification could be made even though a partial print was obtained which could be Greene’s; no drugs or drug-related paraphernalia were found in Greene’s bedroom; and the residue on the spoons and pipes was not tested. The defense brought out there was an outside water tap located 4 to 5 feet further away from where Greene was stooping and that it was connected by a hose to a sprinkler.

Other testimony was that the substances seized were in fact marijuana and heroin.

At the close of the State’s case, the defense moved for a judgment of acquittal on both counts against Delany and on Count I for possession of marijuana against Greene. The motion was denied. The jury acquitted Delany but found Greene guilty on both counts. Judgment of conviction was entered and sentence imposed.

Greene appealed, contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal on Count I, the marijuana charge, and that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction on either count.

A motion for judgment of acquittal requires the trial court to determine whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction of the offense or offenses charged. State v. Holder, 100 Idaho 129, 594 P.2d 639 (1979), State v. Lewis, 96 Idaho 743, 536 P.2d 738 (1975). Our review of the record convinces us that the trial court properly found the evidence was sufficient enough to submit Count I to the jury, and we find it sufficient, if not overwhelming, to sustain the conviction on both counts.

Greene relies upon the following passage from State v. Warden, 97 Idaho 752, 554 P.2d 684 (1976):

“[Tjhere was no showing that the defendant-appellant had actual possession of the substance nor is there any evidence whatsoever to support the inference merely *466 because he was in a room where a controlled substance was later found that he is to be legitimately inferred .to have been in constructive possession. In the absence of such evidence to support the inference, the verdict here must be held to have been based on nothing but speculation.”

Id. at 755, 554 P.2d at 687. Such reliance is misplaced. The Court in Warden also said that while mere presence might be insufficient, this was qualified by the phrase “in the absence of other circumstances.” Id. at 754, 554 P.2d at 686. Here additional evidence was presented which tended to establish Greene’s constructive possession.

The papers and bills containing Greene’s name and listing the premises searched as his address indicated that Greene was residing there, which was not so in Warden. In addition, marijuana and various drug-related paraphernalia were found in common areas to which Greene had access. Greene demonstrated some knowledge of the presence of the drugs and of their illegal nature when he volunteered that “he knew about the marijuana, but he didn’t know anything about the heroin.” This incriminating statement could justify a jury making the reasonable inference that Greene knew of the marijuana and had control of it.

The evidence presented to the jury in regard to the possession of heroin was also such that from it the jury could reasonably infer that Greene had knowledge and control over the heroin. There was the heroin-related paraphernalia found in common areas to which Greene had access, which could be taken together with Greene’s conduct in stooping over near the opening in the foundation where the jar containing the heroin-filled balloons was found, to which may be added Greene’s statement that he didn’t know about the heroin, whereas at the time of the statement, it was not known that the balloons contained heroin. Based on this evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that Greene displayed knowledge of the heroin and its location, carrying with it the inference of dominion.

Suspicious behavior of a defendant when he becomes aware of the police is a circumstance that can link him to drugs found on the premises of which he is in non-exclusive possession. Skold v. State, 263 So.2d 627 (Fla. Dist. Ct.App.1972); Watson v. State, 18 Md.App. 184, 306 A.2d 599 (1973); Commonwealth v. Cash, 240 Pa. Super. 123, 367 A.2d 726 (1976); Annot. 56 A.L.R.3d 948, 960-61 (1974), and cases cited therein.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
600 P.2d 140, 100 Idaho 464, 1979 Ida. LEXIS 477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-greene-idaho-1979.