Ulrich v. State

716 S.W.2d 777, 19 Ark. App. 62, 1986 Ark. App. LEXIS 2405
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 1, 1986
DocketCA CR 86-73
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 716 S.W.2d 777 (Ulrich v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ulrich v. State, 716 S.W.2d 777, 19 Ark. App. 62, 1986 Ark. App. LEXIS 2405 (Ark. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Judge.

This case comes to us from the Yell County Circuit Court. Appellants, James Ulrich and Olivia Kandur, appeal their convictions for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. We reverse the trial court’s decision.

Appellants raise the following seven points for reversal:

I.
THE AFFIDAVIT FOR SEARCH WARRANT WAS DEFECTIVE IN THAT IT DID NOT REVEAL THE TIME WHEN THE OBSERVATIONS OF THE INFORMANT WERE MADE.
II.
PROBABLE CAUSE FOR THE SEARCH WAS LACKING IN THAT THE INFORMATION WAS SUPPLIED BY AN ANONYMOUS INFORMANT.
III.
THE MOTION TO SUPPRESS AS TO APPELLANT ULRICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
IV.
THE MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT AS TO APPELLANT ULRICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
V.
THE SEARCH WARRANT WAS ISSUED IN VIOLATION OF THE RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND THE EVIDENCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED.
VI.
THE EVIDENCE WITH REGARD TO APPELLANT OLIVIA KANDUR WAS INSUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT A CONVICTION OF THE OFFENSE ALLEGED.
VII.
THE FORFEITURE OF CONFISCATED FUNDS WAS UNTIMELY AND IMPROPER.

The Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision in Harris v. State, 284 Ark. 247, 681 S.W.2d 334 (1984), requires that, where the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged on appeal of a criminal conviction, we must review the sufficiency of the evidence, including the inadmissible evidence, prior to consideration of trial errors. At the close of the State’s case, appellant Ulrich moved for a directed verdict. The trial court denied the motion. Appellant Ulrich argues on appeal that it was error for the trial court to deny his motion.

A motion for directed verdict is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Glick v. State, 275 Ark. 34, 627 S.W.2d 14 (1982). In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, this court will affirm if there is substantial evidence to support the verdict. Pickens v. State, 6 Ark. App. 58, 638 S.W.2d 682 (1982). Substantial evidence is evidence of sufficient force and character that it will with reasonable and material certainty and precision compel a conclusion one way or the other; it must force the mind to pass beyond conjecture. Jones v. State, 269 Ark. 119, 598 S.W.2d 748 (1980).

On November 9, 1984, a search warrant was obtained to search the premises of Joe Kandur. When officers arrived at the premises, both appellants were present. Appellant Ulrich was working on a car and remained outside during the search of the premises. Inside the trailer located on the property, the officers found marijuana. Inside one bedroom, officers found marijuana on the bed, a set of balance scales on a dresser, and $9,680 in cash in a laundry bag in a corner of the room. The evidence, along with that found in another bedroom, a hall, and the kitchen, was introduced into evidence at appellants’ trial. Appellant Ulrich argues that there was insufficient evidence of his connection with the marijuana to warrant his conviction for its possession.

At the time of the search on November 9, in a “patdown” for weapons, officers found $2,920 in Ulrich’s back pocket. In a statement given to the officers on November 9, Ulrich stated he spent the night of November 8 and the day of November 9 at the Kandur residence, that the money found in his pocket had been earned in the bee-keeping business, and that he had not seen any marijuana.

We find that the evidence presented at the trial was insufficient to force the mind to pass beyond a suspicion or conjecture as far as appellant Ulrich is concerned. Therefore, we reverse Ulrich’s conviction and dismiss the charges against him. Of course, the money confiscated pursuant to his prosecution should be returned.

Appellant Kandur also argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction. Appellant Kandur was a joint occupant of the trailer in which the marijuana was found. She ran inside the trailer when the police drove up.

The possession required by Ark. Stat. Ann. § 82-2617 (Repl. 1976) need not be actual, physical possession, but may be constructive, as when one controls a substance or has the right to control it. Osborne v. State, 278 Ark. 45, 643 S.W.2d 251 (1982). Where there is joint occupancy of premises, mere occupancy is insufficient unless there are additional factors linking the accused with the contraband. Blair v. State, 16 Ark. App. 1, 696 S.W.2d 755 (1985). After the marijuana had been found one of the officers, after advising appellant Kandur of her rights, asked if the officers had found everything. She replied that they had. We find that there was sufficient evidence presented at the trial court to support the jury’s conviction.

Appellants assert that the affidavit for the search warrant was defective in that it did not reveal the time when the observations of the anonymous informant were made. On November 9, 1984, the municipal judge issued a search warrant authorizing the seizure of illegal drugs, marijuana and equipment from the residence of appellant Kandur. The warrant was based upon the affidavit of Sheriff Denver Dennis. The facts stated in the affidavit to support the issuance of the warrant are as follows:

Sheriff Denver Dennis on 11 -9-84 received a telephone call from an unidentified female citizen apprising him that located on the premises above described was illegal drugs, marijuana and illegal drug equipment for process, manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs. That this female had observed such contraband on the Kandur property and premises. Sheriff Dennis has personal knowledge of prior drug convictions for manufacturing and selling by Joe Kandur in Yell County and in the state of New Jersey. Sheriff Denver Dennis has personal knowledge of unusual vehicle traffic.

The court held a hearing on appellants’ motion to suppress the evidence seized pursuant to the search warrant. At the hearing, the municipal judge testified that he took no formal testimony from Sheriff Dennis and that he issued the warrant based on the information in the affidavit, i.e., the information from the anonymous informant and the sheriffs knowledge of Mr. Kandur’s prior drug convictions and of unusual vehicular traffic around the house.

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Bluebook (online)
716 S.W.2d 777, 19 Ark. App. 62, 1986 Ark. App. LEXIS 2405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ulrich-v-state-arkctapp-1986.