Benjamin Wayne Deckard v. State
12-17-00065-CR
| Tex. App. | Nov 30, 2017Background
- Deckard was indicted on three counts of possession with intent to deliver (methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin) and one count of possession of marijuana; he pleaded not guilty and was convicted by a jury.
- Police observed frequent traffic to a mobile home owned by Willie Leon Barnes, obtained a search warrant, and executed it at ~10:00 p.m.; Deckard fled out the back door and was tackled by officers.
- Nearly all drugs and drug paraphernalia (digital scales, baggies, razor blades, pie tin with cocaine residue) were found in the master bedroom; two grams of crack were in plain view on the kitchen counter.
- A narcotics dog alerted to the Jeep parked at the residence; officers observed the Jeep carpet and panels loosened as if to conceal contraband.
- Barnes gave a written statement to police implicating Deckard as running the day-to-day operation and transporting meth in the Jeep, but at trial Barnes recanted, claiming his prior statement was false.
- The jury assessed concurrent sentences (sixty, sixty, fifty years for the drug counts; two years’ state jail for marijuana); Deckard appealed, challenging legal sufficiency of the evidence for all four convictions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Deckard) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence to support convictions | Evidence (presence at scene, flight, vague answers, dog alert to Jeep, loosened carpet, drugs/paraphernalia in enclosed residence, Barnes’s statement) links Deckard to controlled substances and supports intent to deliver | Evidence insufficient: no accomplice witness corroboration and no proof Deckard was in same room/place as drugs; Barnes recanted so no corroborated accomplice testimony | Affirmed. Reviewing court applied Jackson/Brooks standard, treated Barnes’s out-of-court statement as admissible corroborating evidence (only in-court accomplice testimony must be corroborated), and found the totality of factors sufficient to uphold convictions |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for legal sufficiency review)
- Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (Jackson standard is sole sufficiency test in Texas)
- Bingham v. State, 913 S.W.2d 208 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995) (Article 38.14 requires corroboration only for in-court accomplice testimony)
- Poindexter v. State, 153 S.W.3d 402 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005) (possession requires control and knowledge; when not exclusive possession, independent factors must link accused to drugs)
- Evans v. State, 202 S.W.3d 158 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (nonexclusive list of factors that may link accused to contraband)
- Alvarado v. State, 632 S.W.2d 608 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982) (mere presence at scene is insufficient to prove participation)