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State v. Carr

Supreme Court of Minnesota
Nov 19, 1976
249 N.W.2d 443 (Minn. 1976)

Summary

holding constructive possession shown where defendant exercised dominion over the drugs by rushing toward drugs when police began search in a shared apartment

Summary of this case from State v. Reyes

Opinion

No. 45485.

November 19, 1976.

Criminal law — conviction of unlawful possession of heroin — sufficiency of evidence.

Appeal by Richard D. Carr, Jr., from a judgment of the Hennepin County District Court, David R. Leslie, Judge, whereby he was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Affirmed.

C. Paul Jones, State Public Defender, for appellant.

Warren Spannaus, Attorney General, Gary W. Flakne, County Attorney, and Vernon E. Bergstrom, David W. Larson, Phebe Haugen, and Lee Barry, Assistant County Attorneys, for respondent.

Considered and decided by the court without oral argument.


Defendant was found guilty by the district court of a charge of unlawful possession of heroin, Minn. St. 152.09, subd. 1(2), and was sentenced to a maximum indeterminate term of 5 years' imprisonment. On this appeal from judgment of conviction defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to convict him and, alternatively, that the court applied the wrong standard in finding him guilty. We affirm.

Since defendant did not physically possess the heroin when he was arrested, what we are concerned with is whether there was sufficient evidence that he constructively possessed it. Our discussion of the constructive-possession doctrine in State v. Florine, 303 Minn. 103, 104, 226 N.W.2d 609, 610 (1975), bears repeating here:

"The purpose of the constructive-possession doctrine is to include within the possession statute those cases where the state cannot prove actual or physical possession at the time of arrest but where the inference is strong that the defendant at one time physically possessed the substance and did not abandon his possessory interest in the substance but rather continued to exercise dominion and control over it up to the time of the arrest. Whitebread and Stevens, Constructive Possession in Narcotics Cases: To Have and Have Not, 58 Va. L.Rev. 751, 755. Having in mind the purpose of the constructive-possession doctrine, we believe that in order to prove constructive possession the state should have to show (a) that the police found the substance in a place under defendant's exclusive control to which other people did not normally have access, or (b) that, if police found it in a place to which others had access, there is a strong probability (inferable from other evidence) that defendant was at the time consciously exercising dominion and control over it. See, State v. Wiley, 295 Minn. 411, 205 N.W.2d 667 (1973); State v. LaBarre, 292 Minn. 228, 195 N.W.2d 435 (1972); State v. Resnick, 287 Minn. 168, 177 N.W.2d 418 (1970)."

In this case the police found the heroin in a cabinet in the living room of a house which defendant shared with a woman and two children. A number of other people were present in the house when the police conducted their search and arguably these people also had access to the cabinet and the heroin. Therefore, the state concedes that the specific issue is whether there was evidence strong enough to support an inference that defendant was at the time consciously exercising dominion and control over the heroin. We believe there was evidence to support such an inference: (a) At the moment the police announced their authority and began their raid of the house, defendant rushed toward the area where the cabinet containing the heroin was located; (b) narcotics paraphernalia was found in a drawer and in a file box which contained defendant's identification papers and other personal items; and (c) defendant had prick marks on his arms.

Defendant's alternative contention is that he should receive a new trial because the trial court applied the wrong standard in finding him guilty. Specifically, defendant argues that the trial court based its general finding of guilt solely on a finding that defendant knew the heroin was in the house. That is, defendant argues that the court found him guilty without determining that he consciously possessed the substance.

Rule 26.01, subd. 2, Rules of Criminal Procedure, requires the court trying a case without a jury to "specifically find the essential facts in writing or on the record." The rules were not applicable in this case.

We reject this contention. If defense counsel suspected that the trial court was basing the finding of guilt solely on a finding of knowledge, then he could have questioned the court in an attempt to determine clearly what standard the court was following. We do not believe that it is apparent from the record, as defendant contends, that the trial court applied the wrong standard.

Affirmed.


Summaries of

State v. Carr

Supreme Court of Minnesota
Nov 19, 1976
249 N.W.2d 443 (Minn. 1976)

holding constructive possession shown where defendant exercised dominion over the drugs by rushing toward drugs when police began search in a shared apartment

Summary of this case from State v. Reyes

finding drugs in the defendant's home

Summary of this case from State v. Sam

concluding that defendant constructively possessed drugs when information identifying him was found in the same drawer as the drug paraphernalia

Summary of this case from State v. Barrios-German

concluding there was sufficient evidence of constructive possession when papers identifying the defendant were found in the same drawer as the drug paraphernalia

Summary of this case from State v. Wise

affirming conviction of defendant for possession of controlled substance found in common area of apartment he shared with woman and to which others had access where defendant rushed toward area where drugs were found when police raid started

Summary of this case from State v. Cusick

affirming conviction of defendant for possession of controlled substance found in common area of apartment he shared with woman and to which others had access

Summary of this case from State v. Lorenz

affirming conviction based on evidence that heroin was found in kitchen cabinet of home defendant shared with another, that drug paraphernalia was found in box with papers bearing defendant's name, and that defendant had prick marks on his arm

Summary of this case from State v. Bemboom

affirming conviction of possession of controlled substance where drugs found in common area of apartment that defendant shared with another and where defendant rushed to area where drugs were found when police raid ensued

Summary of this case from State v. Gasta

noting that the evidence supported possession when defendant "rushed toward the area where" the contraband was located

Summary of this case from State v. Alowonle

applying Florine constructive-possession standards to controlled-substance charges

Summary of this case from State v. Porter
Case details for

State v. Carr

Case Details

Full title:STATE v. RICHARD D. CARR, JR

Court:Supreme Court of Minnesota

Date published: Nov 19, 1976

Citations

249 N.W.2d 443 (Minn. 1976)
249 N.W.2d 443

Citing Cases

State v. Sam

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State v. Wise

See State v. Colsch, 284 N.W.2d 839, 841 (Minn. 1979) (concluding there was sufficient evidence of…