Com. v. Rarick
| Decision Date | 28 January 1987 |
| Citation | 499 N.E.2d 1233,23 Mass.App.Ct. 912 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. Linda L. RARICK. |
| Court | Appeals Court of Massachusetts |
Anthony J. Ruberto, Jr., Dist. Atty. and Daniel A. Ford, Asst. Dist. Atty., for the Com.
Thomas A. Federico, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Boston, for defendant.
Before GREANEY, C.J., and QUIRICO and ARMSTRONG, JJ.
RESCRIPT.
When contraband is found in a dwelling shared by a defendant and one or more other persons, a finder of fact may properly infer that the defendant is in possession of the contraband (not necessarily exclusive possession) from evidence that the contraband was found in proximity to personal effects of the defendant in areas of the dwelling, such as a bedroom or closet, to which other evidence indicates the defendant has a particular relationship. See Commonwealth v. Dinnall, 366 Mass. 165, 168-169, 314 N.E.2d 903 (1974); Commonwealth v. Xiarhos, 2 Mass.App.Ct. 225, 231-232, 310 N.E.2d 616 (1974); Commonwealth v. Gill, 2 Mass.App.Ct. 653, 656-657, 318 N.E.2d 628 (1974); Commonwealth v. Lee, 2 Mass.App.Ct. 700, 704, 319 N.E.2d 732 (1974); Commonwealth v. Nichols, 4 Mass.App.Ct. 606, 613, 356 N.E.2d 464 (1976); Commonwealth v. Fiore, 9 Mass.App.Ct. 618, 623-624, 403 N.E.2d 953 (1980); Commonwealth v. Andrews, 12 Mass.App.Ct. 901, 902, 422 N.E.2d 484 (1981). Contrast Commonwealth v. Pursley, 2 Mass.App.Ct. 910, 321 N.E.2d 830 (1975).
The cited decisions govern the present case. There was evidence that the defendant lived in the house that was the subject of the search and, contrary to her testimony, occupied the upstairs northeast bedroom. A purse was found in the dresser in that room which contained personal papers of the defendant such as receipts and records issued by public offices and bearing her name. On the same dresser was a music box which contained marihuana, and in the left dresser drawer were found several marihuana-related items, such as seed, pipes, a scale, and cigarette-rolling paper, along with a letter from an insurance company to the defendant. A drawer in the same dresser contained a "roach clip," designed to hold a marihuana cigarette, with the defendant's name, Linda, soldered on. Cryptic tallies, said to be drug-dealing records, were found in the same room: in particular, one written on the back of a car repair service estimate for a 1968 Chevrolet. A vehicle of that description is...
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Kamara v. State
...bedroom or closet, to which other evidence indicates the defendant has a particular relationship.”(Quoting Commonwealth v. Rarick, 23 Mass.App.Ct. 912, 499 N.E.2d 1233, 1233 (1986)). Similarly, in O'Brien v. State, 422 N.E.2d 1266, 1272 (Ind.Ct.App.1981), the Court of Appeals of Indiana exp......
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Com. v. Frongillo
...were no other personal effects connecting the defendant to the guns and ammunition found in the closets. See Commonwealth v. Rarick, 23 Mass.App.Ct. 912, 912, 499 N.E.2d 1233 (1986) (possession may be inferred "from evidence that the contraband was found in proximity to personal effects of ......
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Commonwealth v. Hamilton
...... Boria, 440 Mass. at 420, 798 N.E.2d 1017. See Commonwealth v. Rarick, 23 Mass.App.Ct. 912, 913, 499 N.E.2d 1233 (1986) (drugs and paraphernalia found in bedroom with defendant's belongings); Commonwealth v. Clarke, ......
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Hurtado v. Tucker, Civil Action No. 96-11915-RWZ.
...gesture and attempt to speak] indicates the defendant has a particular relationship." Id. (quoting Commonwealth v. Rarick, 23 Mass.App.Ct. 912, 912, 499 N.E.2d 1233, 1233-34 (1986)). The court further concluded that a reasonable jury could have inferred from the defendant's possession of dr......