Ruling of Constructive Possession of Gun and Drugs Affirmed

Case: Cain v. State, 2020 Ark. App. 465

Trial Court: Jefferson County Circuit Court (Judge Robert H. Wyatt, Jr.)

Issue: Sufficiency of the evidence for constructive possession of firearm, possession of cocaine, and possession of marijuana.

Holding: Where a defendant driver is the only occupant of a vehicle and contraband is found under the driver’s seat and under a floorboard in the back seat on the passenger’s side, a finding of constructive possession is justified.

Summary:

Appellant/Defendant was stopped by the Pine Bluff Police Department while driving with a busted tail light. Though he was both the driver and only occupant of the car, he did not have a driver’s license or proof of insurance and claimed that the car belonged to a friend’s mother. Police made contact with the alleged owner, but because they could not establish ownership, decided that the car would need to be towed. Before doing so, the police conducted an inventory search.

The search uncovered a pistol with an extended clip, a bag of crack cocaine, and marijuana stored in a vacuum sealed container in a backpack in the floorboard. The car also contained several items that contained identifying information relating to people other than the appellant. Additionally, further investigation showed that the car was registered to someone other than the defendant, nothing in the car had the appellant’s name on it, and his fingerprints were not found on anything.

At the close of the prosecution’s case, Defendant’s counsel moved for dismissal on the basis that

the State had failed to prove the additional factors that should be considered regarding automobile cases and constructive possession. In particular, he argued that the marijuana was found in a backpack in the back seat, it had no ties to Cain and was located near other items containing identification related to other persons, and that items in the trunk of the car also identified other persons but not Cain. Counsel argued that the State did not put on substantial proof to show that Cain knew about any of the contraband or that he was in possession of, had knowledge of, or had the right to control it.

Cain at 5. The motion was granted as to a drug paraphernalia charge but denied as to the other charges. Defendant was subsequently convicted on the drug and gun possession offenses.

The court stated the following as the relevant test:

Constructive possession is the control or right to control the contraband. Bens v. State, 2020 Ark. App. 6, 593 S.W.3d 495. Constructive possession may be implied when the contraband is found in a place immediately and exclusively accessible to the accused and subject to his or her control. Id. Constructive possession may be established by circumstantial evidence, but when such evidence alone is relied on for conviction, it must indicate guilt and exclude every other reasonable hypothesis. Id.

Cain at 8. It then identified the following facts in favor of a finding of constructive possession:

Officer Oswalt testified that the gun was found under the driver’s seat along with the bag containing small, individually wrapped items that later proved to be cocaine. Detective McCorvey testified that the backpack containing the marijuana was found in the floorboard of the back seat behind the passenger seat. These three items of contraband were thus found in places immediately and exclusively accessible to Cain and subject to his control.

Cain at 9. It also noted other facts in the record supported a conviction:

In addition to evidence of constructive possession, other evidence indicating Cain’s guilt included Oswalt’s testimony that Cain was extremely nervous; he did not want the officers searching the car; and he volunteered to Oswalt that the person from whom he borrowed the car, “his home boy,” was “kind of shady,” Cain didn’t know what he had in the vehicle, and he didn’t want to catch any new charges—all of which support the notion that he knew the car contained contraband.

Id.

The court therefore affirmed the guilty convictions.

Those facing criminal charges, including such offenses as drug possession or gun possession, are often well-served to consult with an Arkansas Criminal Law Attorney as soon as possible. Contact our firm by phone, email, or our contact form if you would like your potential case evaluated.