State v. TaylorState v. Taylor
- Reporters:
- ,
- Before:
- Caraway, Brown, Peatross
CARAWAY, J.
A jury convicted Christopher Taylor of attempted possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.1 Taylor was adjudicated a habitual offender and was sentenced to thirty years hard labor on the drug charge. Additionally, he was sentenced to seven years at hard labor and a $1000 fine on the gun conviction. Taylor appeals only the attempted possession of marijuana conviction and sentence. We affirm.
Facts
On November 6, 2003, Red River Parish deputies executed a search warrant for the apartment of a female, Roctreas “Roc” McCray (“McCray“), after receiving information from McCray‘s father, Mack Lewis, that guns and drugs belonging to the defendant, Christopher Taylor, were located in the dwelling. Lewis believed Taylor was living in the apartment and that McCray had been out of town the previous week. Lewis claimed two of his other daughters provided him with the information. Lewis visited the apartment and, after seeing guns and drugs, contacted Red River Parish Deputy Johnny Taylor. Deputy Taylor reported the parties’ apparent illegal activity to Taylor‘s and McCray‘s parole and probation officers. McCray was on probation for an aggravated battery conviction. Taylor was on parole for a manslaughter conviction and had been out of prison for only a few weeks. Because both McCray and Taylor had reported to the probation office that morning, Deputy Taylor was able to secure consent to search forms for McCray‘s apartment and another address provided
Discussion
Taylor first argues that the evidence failed to exclude the reasonable hypothesis that the drugs belonged to McCray. He claims the only evidence showing that Taylor possessed the drugs came from biased witnesses who knew McCray would go to prison if she possessed illegal drugs.
Taylor failed to file a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal. The question of sufficiency of the evidence is properly raised by such a motion.
The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency-of-evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App. 2d Cir.4/2/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333.
The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence in such cases must resolve any conflict in the direct evidence by viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. When the direct evidence is thus viewed, the facts established by the direct evidence and inferred from the circumstances established by that evidence must be sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of every essential element of the crime. State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La.1983); State v. Owens, 30,903 (La.App. 2d Cir.9/25/98), 719 So.2d 610, writ denied, 98-2723 (La.2/5/99), 737 So.2d 747.
Circumstantial evidence consists of proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience. State v. Lilly, 468 So.2d 1154 (La.1985); State v. Turner, 591 So.2d 391 (La.App. 2d Cir.1991), writ denied, 597 So.2d 1027 (La.1992). For circumstantial evidence to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
This court‘s authority to review questions of fact in a criminal case is limited to the sufficiency-of-the-evidence evaluation under Jackson, supra, and does not extend to credibility determinations made by the trier of fact.
Regarding the element of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, the state need not prove the defendant was in physical possession of the narcotics found; constructive possession is sufficient to support a conviction. State v. Toups, 01-1875 (La.10/15/02), 833 So.2d 910. Constructive possession means having an object subject to one‘s dominion and control, with knowledge of its presence, even though it is not in one‘s physical possession. State v. Holland, 39,922 (La.App. 2d Cir.12/10/03), 862 So.2d 448; State v. White, 37,261 (La.App. 2d Cir.6/25/03), 850 So.2d 987. Attempted possession may be proved by constructive possession. State v. Daniels, 614 So.2d 97 (La.App. 2d Cir.1993), writ denied, 619 So.2d 573 (La.1993). Guilty knowledge is an essential element of the crime of possession of contraband, and such knowledge can be inferred from the circumstances. State v. Toups, supra.
A determination of possession sufficient to convict depends on the peculiar facts of each case. Factors to be considered in determining whether a defendant exercised dominion and control sufficient to constitute constructive possession include his knowledge that the drugs were in the area, his relationship with the person found to be in actual possession, his access to the area where the drugs were found, evidence of recent drug use, and his physical proximity to the drugs. Id. A subject can have constructive possession if he wilfully and knowingly shares with a companion the right to control the drugs. State v. Marshall, supra.
We find the evidence sufficient to support Taylor‘s conviction. A joint stipulation conceded that an expert witness would have testified that the marijuana found was packaged for sale or distribution. Taylor does not contest the distribution element on appeal. Taylor solely argues that the evidence failed to prove the possession element of the offense. Obviously, because the marijuana was not in Taylor‘s actual possession when it was seized, the inquiry before us is whether the state proved his constructive possession of the marijuana.
At trial the state presented the testimony of Detective Taylor who testified that the defendant told him he did not live in the apartment, but that he “hangs” there sometimes. Melissa Murray, McCray‘s probation officer, also testified that the defendant told her “he stayed there some.” Detective Taylor also testified that upon his search of McCray‘s apartment, he found two shirts hanging on the bedroom
As discussed above, Mack Lewis testified that he believed Taylor lived in McCray‘s apartment. He had visited the location one evening and saw Taylor come to the apartment and go directly to the bedroom. He also recalled that McCray had been out of town for a week, the week before this incident.
McCray and her two sisters, Tamero and Easie, also testified that Taylor lived in the apartment. The sisters stated they saw him bring drugs into the apartment. Tamero testified that Taylor had clothes in McCray‘s apartment and that lots of foot traffic went in and out of the apartment. She specifically recalled seeing Taylor selling drugs in and out of the house and bringing marijuana into the apartment in a Wal-Mart bag. She also remembered one incident when she saw him selling drugs to someone in a truck. On that occasion, Tamero talked to Taylor about what he was doing. Tamero‘s husband, Tita Bradley, testified that he had been warned that there were drugs in McCray‘s apartment. He went to the apartment upon his release from jail and also saw traffic coming in and out of the apartment. Bradley witnessed Taylor come into the apartment, walk to McCray‘s room and close the door. He then saw Taylor come out of the room and go back outside. Bradley felt there were drugs in the apartment so he left.
McCray testified that Taylor was her boyfriend and had been staying with her since he got out of jail. Taylor had free access to her home and the two shared her chest of drawers. Taylor had a toothbrush at McCray‘s apartment. McCray acknowledged that lots of traffic went in and out of her apartment. McCray also stated she had seen Taylor with drugs in her apartment a couple of days before his arrest. McCray admitted that upon the search of the apartment, she never told the detectives the drugs and guns belonged to Taylor.
Easie McCray testified that she lives with McCray and that Taylor stayed in McCray‘s apartment when he got out of jail. Easie stated Taylor slept in the apartment on a regular basis and showered and kept clothes there. Easie had seen Taylor bring drugs into the apartment in a Wal-Mart bag.
Alvie Myers, Taylor‘s parole specialist, testified that Taylor was released from prison on October 15, 2003. Taylor provided two different addresses for visitation and on the consent to search forms. Neither address was for McCray‘s apartment.
The defense presented the testimony of three other residents of McCray‘s apartment complex. These witnesses identified two other young men who frequented McCray‘s apartment. Shelia Lewis testified she knew that Taylor did not live at the apartment, although he would be there at times. Anita Morris testified that Taylor lived with his mother, although she had seen him at McCray‘s apartment complex. Tiara Morris also testified that Taylor lived with his mother. Rose Byrd, the manager of McCray‘s apartment complex, testified that Taylor was not included on the list of tenants, although she was aware that he once broke a window in McCray‘s apartment.
In this matter, the jury obviously believed the testimony of the McCray sisters and their father that Taylor had been living in the apartment, brought drugs in and sold them from the apartment. Despite the involvement of his daughters, Lewis first reported the evidence of criminal conduct
Excessive Sentence
Taylor next argues that the imposition of the maximum thirty year sentence is excessive because the sentence imposed “far exceeds a reasonable penalty for a first offense drug charge. . . .”
Any person who violates
Any person adjudicated a habitual second felony offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a determinate term not less than one-half the longest term and not more than twice the longest term prescribed for the charged offense if that offense is such that upon a first conviction the offender would be punishable by imprisonment for any term less than his natural life.
The test imposed by the reviewing court in determining the excessiveness of a sentence is two-pronged. First, the record must show that the trial court took cognizance of the criteria set forth in
Whether the sentence imposed is too severe depends on the circumstances of the case and the background of the defendant. A sentence violates
As a general rule, maximum sentences are appropriate in cases involving the most serious violation of the offense and the worst type of offender. State v. Grissom, 29,718 (La.App.2d Cir.08/20/97), 700 So.2d 541.
Because Taylor‘s motion for reconsideration solely urged a claim of excessive sentence, he is relegated only to a claim of constitutional excessiveness. State v. Mims, 619 So.2d 1059 (La.1993). In this case, Taylor faced a maximum sentencing exposure of thirty years at hard labor because of his adjudication as a second felony offender under the habitual offender law. Prior to imposing the maximum sentence, the court ordered and reviewed a pre-sentence investigation. Upon sentencing Taylor, the trial court listed the factors it considered for the sentence, including an undue risk that during the period of a suspended sentence or probation Taylor would commit another crime, that a lesser sentence would deprecate the seriousness of the defendant‘s crime and that Taylor was in need of correctional treatment. The court also considered Taylor‘s criminal history, and “the severity of this particular crime and the ones associated with it.”3
We cannot find the imposed sentence to be excessive. At the time of this offense, Taylor was on parole for a crime of violence and had been out of jail only weeks before committing the present crime which involved the attempted dispersion of drugs into society. Obviously, Taylor failed to benefit or be rehabilitated by the prior leniency granted to him, and he directly exhibited a total disregard for the requirements of his parole within a short time of his release from prison. These facts support the trial court‘s determination that Taylor qualified as the worst type of offender. The sentence is affirmed.
CONVICTION AND SENTENCE AFFIRMED.