State of Tennessee v. Humphre Ford, W2015-02407-CCA-R3-CD

On Jan. 3, 2014, Memphis police conducted a knock-and-talk at 889 Belvedere after anonymous tips about drug sales; defendant Humphre Ford answered and consented to a search.
Officers found a loaded .40 Glock in an unlocked gun box under a queen bed in a bedroom the defendant identified as his; a Mason jar with ~21.87 g of marijuana was also under the bed; police recovered $1,885 and 0.9 g marijuana from the defendant.
The defendant was a convicted felon (stipulated record) with prior felony convictions; he was charged with felon-in-possession (firearm and handgun), two counts of simple possession of marijuana, and firearm-in-commission charge (acquitted on that count).
At trial the State presented officers and a TBI agent; the defendant called his girlfriend Angela Gunn, who claimed ownership of the gun and drugs and said Ford did not live there; she later was arrested after her testimony and admitted possession outside the jury’s presence.
The jury convicted Ford of being a felon in possession of a firearm and a handgun and two counts of simple possession (merged). The trial court imposed within-range consecutive sentences, producing an effective sentence of 12 years, 11 months, 29 days.
On appeal Ford challenged (1) sufficiency of evidence for the two felon-in-possession convictions and (2) the imposition of consecutive sentences.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency: felon in possession of firearm	Evidence established constructive possession: Ford admitted he lived in the house/bedroom where a loaded gun was in an accessible unlocked case.	Gunn’s testimony claimed she owned gun/drugs and Ford did not live there; defendant argued evidence insufficient to prove possession.	Affirmed — viewing evidence in State’s favor, a rational jury could find constructive possession.
Sufficiency: felon in possession of handgun	Same as above; same elements for handgun possession proven by location and access.	Same as above.	Affirmed — handgun possession supported by same constructive-possession proof.
Consecutive sentencing	Trial court properly relied on extensive criminal record (statutory ground under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-115(b)(2)).	Consecutive sentences excessive given Gunn’s confession and mitigating circumstances.	Affirmed — within-range sentences and consecutive ordering were not an abuse of discretion; court found defendant’s record extensive.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Evans, 838 S.W.2d 185 (Tenn. 1992) (appellate review of sufficiency)
State v. Anderson, 835 S.W.2d 600 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1992) (possession standards)
Bolin v. State, 405 S.W.2d 768 (Tenn. 1966) (deference to jury credibility determinations)
State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (circumstantial evidence standard same as direct evidence)
State v. Bise, 380 S.W.3d 682 (Tenn. 2012) (presumption of reasonableness for within-range sentences)
State v. Pollard, 432 S.W.3d 851 (Tenn. 2013) (standards for appellate review of consecutive sentences)