State v. Spates

588 So. 2d 398, 1991 WL 226578
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 30, 1991
Docket22775-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 588 So. 2d 398 (State v. Spates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Spates, 588 So. 2d 398, 1991 WL 226578 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

588 So.2d 398 (1991)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Leroy SPATES, Jr., Appellant.

No. 22775-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 30, 1991.

*400 Indigent Defender Board by Spencer Hays, Ford E. Stinson, Jr., Benton, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, James M. Bullers, Dist. Atty., Whitley R. Graves, Asst. Dist. Atty., Benton, for appellee.

Before MARVIN, SEXTON and STEWART, JJ.

SEXTON, Judge.

The defendant, Leroy Spates, Jr., was charged with and, following a jury trial, was convicted of possession of cocaine. He was then sentenced to the maximum term of imprisonment of five years at hard labor. On appeal, the defendant argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction and that the five-year sentence was excessive. Finding neither of the assignments of error to have merit, we affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence.

Around dusk on June 15, 1989, Captain Ricky Spier of the Narcotics Division of the Bossier City Police Department was executing a search warrant at a residence in Bossier City. The defendant was in the front yard of that residence. Captain Spier searched him and found a small piece of radio antenna with a piece of Brillo pad on the end in defendant's right front pants pocket. In Captain Spier's opinion, based on his experience, the antenna was a "straight shooter," an item used exclusively to smoke crack cocaine. The straight shooter was confiscated and tests revealed that it contained a small amount, approximately one milligram, of cocaine residue.

Defendant initially argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his possession of cocaine conviction. Specifically, defendant claims there was insufficient evidence that he possessed the cocaine knowingly or intentionally.

The standard of review for the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, a 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. Nealy, 450 So.2d 634 (La.1984).

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 or intentionally possessed the drug. State v. Matthews, 552 So.2d 590 (La.App.2d Cir.1989), writ denied, 559 So.2d 137 (La.1990); State v. Chambers, 563 So.2d 579 (La.App. 4th Cir.1990). Guilty knowledge is therefore an essential element of the crime of possession of a controlled dangerous substance. State v. Goiner, 410 So.2d 1085 (La.1982); State v. Christopher, 561 So.2d 935 (La.App.2d Cir. 1990), writ denied, 567 So.2d 1124 (La. 1990). Whether the accused knew the substance was a narcotic drug is a matter of proof by direct or circumstantial evidence. State v. Goiner, supra; State v. Perique, 340 So.2d 1369 (La.1976).

In the instant case, the evidence of the defendant's guilty knowledge is circumstantial. We therefore note that the rule as to circumstantial evidence is that, assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, *401 it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. LSA-R.S. 15:438. However, this statutory rule for circumstantial evidence does not provide a separate test from the Jackson v. Virginia standard to be applied instead of a sufficiency of the evidence test whenever the state relies on circumstantial evidence to prove an element of the crime. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198 (La.1984); State v. Eason, 460 So.2d 1139 (La.App.2d Cir.1984), writ denied, 463 So.2d 1317 (La.1985). Although the circumstantial evidence rule may not establish a stricter standard of review than the more general reasonable juror's reasonable doubt formula, it emphasizes the need for careful observance of the usual standard and provides a helpful methodology for its implementation in cases which hinge on the evaluation of circumstantial evidence. State v. Chism, 436 So.2d 464 (La. 1983); State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La. 1983). Ultimately, all evidence, both direct and circumstantial, must be sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia to satisfy a rational juror that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wright, supra; State v. Eason, supra.

We note at the outset that a conviction for possession of controlled dangerous substances may rest on the possession of mere traces or residue of the substance. See State v. White, 535 So.2d 929 (La. App.2d Cir.1988), writ denied, 537 So.2d 1161 (La.1989); State v. Fontenot, 578 So.2d 1032 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1991), writ denied, 582 So.2d 1305 (La.1991). Although a conviction for possession of a controlled dangerous substance can stand on the possession of the slightest amount of a drug, it is clear that the amount of the substance will have some bearing on a defendant's guilty knowledge.

A consideration of other reported cases involving the possession of trace amounts of controlled dangerous substances is instructive of the evidence necessary in such cases to show a defendant's guilty knowledge. However, we are careful to note the distinctions in each case. Ultimately, the determination of whether there is possession of a controlled dangerous substance sufficient to convict depends on the facts peculiar to each case. State v. Trahan, 425 So.2d 1222 (La.1983); State v. Chambers, supra.

In State v. Trahan, supra, the two defendants were convicted of possession of cocaine. A small vial containing a residue of cocaine had been found in a bedroom occupied by defendant Trahan in a trailer rented by defendant Leleaux. The amount of cocaine was too small to be measured or weighed, it was consumed during testing, and the vial in which it was contained was lost prior to trial. Also seized at the trailer was a material commonly used for cutting cocaine. Leleaux testified that he knew nothing about the vial or its contents and Trahan did not testify at trial. The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the convictions, finding insufficient evidence of the defendants' guilty knowledge. Seemingly implicit in the supreme court's opinion is a finding that, with two defendants, the state failed to sufficiently connect either or both of the defendants to the cocaine to allow an inference of guilty knowledge.

In State v. White, supra, the defendant had been convicted of possession of PCP. Seized from the defendant's jacket pocket during a search incident to the defendant's arrest was a glass tube containing trace amounts of PCP. The drug was consumed during testing. The defendant had attempted to flee from law enforcement officials prior to his arrest and, although refuted by defendant at trial, there was testimony that at the time of his arrest he had made inculpatory statements indicative of guilty knowledge. This court distinguished the case from Trahan and affirmed defendant's conviction.

In State v. Fontenot, supra, the Third Circuit reviewed a possession of cocaine conviction. A search following the defendant's arrest revealed a small pipe with tape on it inside the defendant's underwear. Tests performed on the pipe showed it contained cocaine residue.

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Bluebook (online)
588 So. 2d 398, 1991 WL 226578, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-spates-lactapp-1991.