State v. Williamson

430 S.E.2d 467, 110 N.C. App. 626, 1993 N.C. App. LEXIS 564
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJune 15, 1993
DocketNo. 923SC275
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 430 S.E.2d 467 (State v. Williamson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Williamson, 430 S.E.2d 467, 110 N.C. App. 626, 1993 N.C. App. LEXIS 564 (N.C. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

McCRODDEN, Judge.

Defendant presents two questions, the first of which is whether there was sufficient evidence to prove a conspiracy to sell more than 100, but less than 2000, pounds of marijuana. The first of his two contentions on this question is that there was insufficient evidence to prove the existence of one master agreement to deal in that amount of marijuana.

At trial, the State’s evidence tended to show that, while he was the assistant director of the Greene County Parks and Recreation Department in 1982, defendant became acquainted with Elmer Lee Dixon, Jr., a part-time worker at the Department from 1982 through the summer of 1986. In December 1986, while Dixon was at defendant’s house, defendant asked Dixon if he would sell marijuana to make money. When Dixon responded affirmatively, defendant showed him some marijuana in a clear plastic bag. Dixon could tell from smelling it and looking at it that it was good marijuana, and he indicated to defendant that he could sell it without problem. Defendant told Dixon that he wanted him to set up deals, by which he meant that he wanted Dixon to find people who would buy the marijuana. Over the course of the period from December 1986, until approximately May 1989, Dixon arranged deals for defendant. When he first started selling marijuana for defendant, Dixon sold amounts of two to three pounds, and occasionally up to five pounds, three times per week. On several occasions, Dixon also sold amounts of eight pounds to buyers in Wilson. There were four times when Dixon sold as much as twenty-five pounds of marijuana obtained from defendant. From the time he began selling marijuana for defendant through February 1988, Dixon had obtained at least 150 pounds from defendant. From February 1988, through the summer of 1988, Dixon obtained marijuana from defendant at least three times a week, in amounts of two to five pounds, totalling at least 75 pounds. From the fall of 1988 until the time at which Dixon quit working with defendant in May or June of 1989, Dixon obtained at least 250 pounds of marijuana from defendant.

The manner in which the deals were arranged was consistent throughout the time defendant dealt with Dixon. Dixon would contact the defendant, either at home or at work, and would request a number of pounds. Defendant would then contact his supplier and tell Dixon where he could pick up the marijuana. Sometimes Dixon would meet at defendant’s house to pick up the marijuana, [629]*629and sometimes defendant would tell Dixon where the marijuana would be hidden. When Dixon met defendant at his house to pick up an order of marijuana, defendant would get the marijuana from a space above the door to his garage.

When he was told to pick up the marijuana from somewhere other than defendant’s house, Dixon was able to locate the marijuana easily because it was always wrapped in a trash bag. One pound units of marijuana were in clear plastic freezer storage bags found within a trash bag. Dixon would deliver the marijuana to the buyer, return to defendant with the money, and receive from defendant his share of the proceeds.

The State also presented several other witnesses who had had marijuana dealings with defendant. Each gave testimony that corroborated Dixon’s testimony. Each gave a description, consistent with Dixon’s testimony, of how the deals were arranged, where the marijuana was found, and how it was packaged.

In his attack on the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction for one overarching conspiracy, defendant relies on the case of State v. Rozier, 69 N.C. App. 38, 316 S.E.2d 893, disc. review denied, 312 N.C. 88, 321 S.E.2d 907 (1984). However, a more instructive and factually analogous case is State v. Wilson, 106 N.C. App. 342, 416 S.E.2d 603 (1992), which relies heavily on Rozier. In Wilson, the defendant was convicted on four conspiracy charges that arose out of a series of robberies that occurred during a two week period. One of the admitted participants in the robberies testified that the participants, including the defendant, had planned the course of robberies to get cash. The duration of the conspiracy was to be indefinite. Indeed, the conspirators planned for it to last “to the death.” Wilson, at 346, 416 S.E.2d at 605. A unanimous panel of this Court stated:

Because the crime of conspiracy lies in the agreement itself, and not the commission of the substantive crime, a defendant can, under certain fact situations, be convicted of a single conspiracy when there are multiple acts or transactions. To determine whether single or multiple conspiracies are involved, the “essential question is the nature of the agreement or agreements ... but factors such as time intervals, participants, objectives, and number of meetings all must be considered.”

[630]*630Wilson, at 345, 416 S.E.2d at 605 (quoting Rozier) (citations omitted). The Court applied what it called “the Rozier factors” to the evidence, found that there was a single conspiracy, and vacated three of the conspiracy convictions.

In this case, defendant asserts that the State failed to show sufficient evidence as to each of the four Rozier factors and, therefore, failed to show a master agreement.

It is well settled that the test of the sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case is whether there is substantial evidence to support a finding of each element of the offense charged and that the offense was committed by the defendant. State v. Roseman, 279 N.C. 573, 580, 184 S.E.2d 289, 294 (1971). The evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the State and the State is entitled to every reasonable inference to be drawn therefrom. State v. Robbins, 309 N.C. 771, 775, 309 S.E.2d 188, 190 (1983). Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. State v. Fletcher, 301 N.C. 709, 712, 272 S.E.2d 859, 860-61 (1981).

In applying a Rozier analysis to the evidence in this case, we find ample evidence from which a jury could conclude that there was a single conspiracy between defendant and Dixon. First, even though other people were sometimes involved in this particular conspiracy, the two main participants, defendant and Dixon, were consistent throughout. “The entering and exiting of various participants in an otherwise ongoing plan to commit a particular felonious act does not convert a single conspiracy into several.” Wilson, at 346, 416 S.E.2d at 605.

Second, despite the fact that the course of dealing between Dixon and defendant extended over a three and a half year period, the time intervals between transactions were short and fairly consistent. Dixon testified that he made purchases from defendant as often as three times per week.

Third, the primary objective of the relationship between defendant and Dixon, to sell as much marijuana as they could, never changed. Finally, as to the number of meetings, there was sufficient evidence supporting the State’s contention - that there was only one meeting at which the scheme itself was discussed.

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Related

State v. Sanders
822 S.E.2d 793 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2019)
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812 S.E.2d 912 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2018)
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748 S.E.2d 65 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2013)
State v. Williamson
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
430 S.E.2d 467, 110 N.C. App. 626, 1993 N.C. App. LEXIS 564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-williamson-ncctapp-1993.