State v. Matthews

552 So. 2d 590, 1989 WL 134328
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided November 1, 1989·No. 20,945-KA·Published·Cited by 31 cases

Opinion

552 So.2d 590 (1989)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Albert Isaac MATTHEWS a/k/a Iceberg, Appellant.

No. 20,945-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

November 1, 1989.

*592 Jerry Jones, Monroe, Richard H. Morgan, Pontiac, Mich., for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, James Norris, Dist. Atty., Monroe, Joseph T. Mickel, Asst. Dist. Atty., Monroe, for appellee.

Before FRED W. JONES, Jr., SEXTON and LINDSAY, JJ.

LINDSAY, Judge.

The defendant, Albert Isaac Matthews, appeals his convictions and sentences for attempted possession of marijuana and attempted possession of cocaine, violations of LSA-R.S. 40:966, 40:967 and 40:979. For attempted possession of cocaine, the defendant was sentenced to two and a half years at hard labor and fined $2,500 or, in default of payment of the fine, to serve an additional one year. For attempted possession of marijuana, the defendant was sentenced to ninety days in jail, a fine of $250 or, in default of payment of the fine, to serve an additional ninety days. The sentences for these two offenses were ordered to be served concurrently with each other but consecutively with any other sentences imposed upon the defendant for other offenses. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

In July, 1987, the Metro Narcotics Unit in Monroe, Louisiana, received information from a confidential informant that the defendant was selling cocaine. The confidential informant also stated that he told law enforcement officials that he had made several purchases of cocaine from the defendant inside the defendant's residence. The confidential informant observed cocaine in vehicles parked at the defendant's residence. The confidential informant made a purchase of cocaine from the defendant with money provided by law enforcement officials. The serial numbers on the money were recorded by the Metro Narcotics Unit. The confidential informant reported that the defendant told him that additional cocaine would be available for purchase at the defendant's residence.

The confidential informant had provided reliable information to law enforcement officials in the past and, based upon the information provided, a warrant was obtained to search the defendant's residence.

At 2:50 a.m. on July 29, 1987, officers of the Metro Narcotics Unit gained entrance to the residence through a kitchen door. The defendant's grandmother and several children were in the main portion of the residence. An apartment, consisting of a den and a loft bedroom, was located in the rear portion of the residence and was locked off from the remainder of the house *593 by a deadbolt lock. Entry was gained to this area by force.

The defendant was found in bed in the bedroom of the apartment. He was placed under arrest and a search of the previously locked apartment area was conducted. Cocaine and marijuana were found in plain view on a coffee table in the apartment. A partially burned marijuana cigarette was found on the floor beside the coffee table and another partially burned marijuana cigarette was found in an ash tray beside the defendant's bed. A box containing nineteen packages of cigarette rolling papers and three one-hundred-count boxes of razor blades were also seized along with an expired driver's license issued to the defendant, listing the residence as his address. Several items of correspondence were seized which were addressed to the defendant at the residence as well as a recent credit card receipt listing the residence as his address. Law enforcement officials also recovered $205 in cash from the pocket of the shorts the defendant was wearing. The serial numbers on some of the bills were determined to be the same as those on the money used by the confidential informant to purchase drugs.

The defendant was charged by indictment with possession of marijuana, second offense, and possession of cocaine. He was tried by jury and convicted of attempted possession of marijuana and attempted possession of cocaine. The defendant has appealed his convictions and sentences urging several assignments of error.

CONSTRUCTIVE POSSESSION

The defendant claims there was insufficient evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt that he had dominion and control over the contraband or that he knowingly possessed it. This assignment of error is without merit.

First, the defendant was convicted of attempted possession of both cocaine and marijuana. In applying the proper standards of review to the facts in this record, there is sufficient evidence upon which the jury could reasonably have found the defendant guilty not merely of an attempt, but of actual possession of both cocaine and marijuana.

The constitutional standard of review for sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Moore, 490 So.2d 588 (La.App. 2d Cir.1986), writ denied 494 So.2d 1175 (La.1986).

The statutory rule as to circumstantial evidence is that, assuming every fact to be proved which the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. LSA-R.S. 15:438.[1] The circumstantial evidence rule is not a stricter standard of review than the more general reasonable juror's reasonable doubt formula, but a helpful methodology for its implementation by an appellate court in cases which hinge upon the evaluation of circumstantial evidence. State v. Moore, supra.

To support a conviction for possession of a controlled dangerous substance, the state must prove that the defendant was in possession of the illegal drug and that he knowingly possessed the drug. State v. Walker, 514 So.2d 602 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987).

The state need not prove that the defendant was in actual physical possession of the drugs found; constructive possession is sufficient to support a conviction. State v. Moore, supra; State v. Walker, supra.

A person is in constructive possession of a controlled dangerous substance if it is subject to his dominion and control and he had knowledge of its presence, even though it is not in his physical possession. *594 State v. Abram, 465 So.2d 800 (La.App. 2d Cir.1985), writ denied 469 So.2d 983 (La. 1985).

Guilty knowledge is the essential element and the determination of whether there is possession sufficient to convict depends upon the facts particular to the case. State v. Trahan, 425 So.2d 1222 (La.1983).

The mere presence in the area where narcotics are discovered, or the mere association with the person who does control the drug, is insufficient to support a finding of possession. State v. Moore, supra. However, the fact finder may draw reasonable inferences based upon the evidence presented at trial and may consider several factors, including the defendant's access to the area where the drug was found; the evidence of recent drug use by the defendant and the defendant's physical proximity to the drugs. State v. Moore, supra.

In the present case, the state presented ample evidence upon which the jury could base a finding that the defendant had constructive possession of the contraband found in th

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