State v. Welch

441 A.2d 539, 1982 R.I. LEXIS 806
CourtSupreme Court of Rhode Island
DecidedFebruary 16, 1982
Docket81-171-C.A.
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 441 A.2d 539 (State v. Welch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Welch, 441 A.2d 539, 1982 R.I. LEXIS 806 (R.I. 1982).

Opinion

OPINION

BEVILACQUA, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal brought by the defendant, John J. Welch, from judgments of conviction on an information charging him with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in violation of G.L.1956 (1968 Reenactment) § 21-28-4.01(A)(2)(a), as enacted by P.L.1974, ch. 183, § 2, and with maintaining a common nuisance in violation of § 21-28-4.06(l)(a), as enacted by P.L.1974, ch. 183, § 2, which judgments were entered against him in the Superior Court after a jury-waived trial.

Our review of the record reveals the following facts. At approximately 8:50 p. m. on February 22, 1979, the chief of the Coventry police and three of his detectives approached a single-family house at 2022 New London Turnpike, Coventry. Upon being admitted to the house by Lila Dockray (Dockray), the chief informed Dockray that she was under arrest for selling narcotics, advised her of her Miranda rights, and handed her a warrant authorizing the officers' to search the house for narcotics. One of the officers asked Dockray where John Welch could be found. She informed him that Welch was sleeping in the bedroom. Officers Herbert and Leach entered the bedroom, woke defendant, identified themselves as police officers, and informed him that they had a warrant to search the premises. Dockray entered the bedroom, handed the warrant to defendant, and informed him that they were “looking for the pot.” The defendant directed her to “give it to them,” whereupon she went to the bedroom closet, removed two large bags containing six smaller bags of marijuana, and turned them over to the officers. The officers noted that men’s clothing was both hanging in the closet and scattered around the bedroom.

The officers then asked defendant if he had any cash in the house. Accompanied by one or more of the officers, defendant retrieved his wallet and, at their direction, brought it to the kitchen table. An examination of the bills contained therein under an ultraviolet light and a check of their serial numbers confirmed that two of defendant’s $5 bills had been used earlier that day by an undercover informant to purchase marijuana at the house.

The defendant presents the following issues on appeal: (1) whether defendant’s objection to admission of the marked money into evidence should have been sustained, (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to establish that defendant had intentional control of the bags of marijuana found in the closet with knowledge of the nature of their contents, and (3) whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that defendant maintained a common nuisance.

*541 I

The defendant claims that at the time the police officers asked him to turn over his cash, they lacked probable cause to arrest him. He therefore concludes that the evidence was taken as a result of an illegal detention and is inadmissible. We find defendant’s argument to be without merit.

Establishing probable cause does not require the same degree of proof required to establish guilt. State v. Belcourt, R.I., 425 A.2d 1224, 1226 (1981). Indeed, we have repeatedly stated that probable cause to arrest exists if, at the moment of arrest, the facts and circumstances within the police officers’ knowledge and of which they have reasonable trustworthy information are sufficient to warrant a prudent person’s believing that the suspect had committed or was committing an offense. State v. Belc-ourt, supra; In re John C., R.I., 425 A.2d 586, cert. denied,-U.S.-, 101 S.Ct. 3159, 69 L.Ed.2d 1005 (1981); State v. Frazier, R.I., 421 A.2d 546 (1980); State v. Firth, R.I., 418 A.2d 827 (1980); see Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 85 S.Ct. 223, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964). Thus, to determine whether probable cause to arrest defendant existed, we must view “the cumulative effect of all the facts and circumstances present at the time of the arrest * * * as through the eyes of a reasonable and cautious police officer on the scene * * In re John C., R.I., 425 A.2d at 538.

The record shows that at the time of the arrest, the officers knew that an undercover informant had purchased marijuana at the premises a few hours earlier. This informant had stated to the police that the man living in that house had negotiated a separate sale of marijuana with him on a previous occasion. The officers also knew that defendant, as a joint tenant with another, was the owner of record of the house. Finally, they knew that defendant had sent Dockray to retrieve several bags of marijuana from the closet in the bedroom in which he had been sleeping. We believe that these facts and circumstances are sufficient to establish probable cause for the arrest. Accordingly, defendant’s constitutional challenge to the admission of the money taken from him fails.

II

We turn next to the consideration of defendant’s contention that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on the charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The defendant insists that not one scintilla of evidence shows that he knew of any drug transactions or of the presence of drugs on the premises.

This court has construed possession to mean “intentional control of a designated object with knowledge of its nature.” State v. Gilman, 110 R.I. 207, 215, 291 A.2d 425, 430 (1972); see Sharbuno v. Moran, R.I., 429 A.2d 1294 (1981). Indeed, we have stated that intentional control with knowledge of the object’s nature is the essential element of a possessory offense. State v. Benevides, R.I., 425 A.2d 77 (1981). We have recognized, however, that possession may be either actual or constructive. State v. Motyka, 111 R.I. 38, 298 A.2d 793 (1973). The latter arises if “an individual has dominion or control over an object although it may not be within his immediate physical possession.” Id. at 40-41, 298 A.2d at 794; see In re Caldarone, 115 R.I. 316, 345 A.2d 871 (1975).

The trial justice found that when defendant directed Dockray to give the bags of marijuana stored in the closet to the police, he had control of those bags with knowledge of their contents so as to constitute possession. We accord great weight to the findings of fact of a trial justice sitting without a jury. State v. Proulx, R.I., 419 A.2d 835 (1980); In re Susan, R.I., 411 A.2d 296 (1980); State v. Nidever, R.I., 390 A.2d 368 (1978); State v.

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Bluebook (online)
441 A.2d 539, 1982 R.I. LEXIS 806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-welch-ri-1982.