Jones v. State, 93-CT-00956-SCT

Decision Date08 May 1997
Docket NumberNo. 93-CT-00956-SCT,93-CT-00956-SCT
Citation693 So.2d 375
PartiesRobert Lewis JONES v. STATE of Mississippi
CourtMississippi Supreme Court

Harry M. Yoste, Jr., Gulfport, for appellant.

Michael C. Moore, Attorney General, Scott Stuart, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

En Banc.

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

McRAE, Justice, for the Court.

Robert Lewis Jones was indicted October 11, 1991, by the Jackson County Grand Jury for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Jones went to trial in August 1993 and was convicted of possession of more than one kilogram of marijuana. He was sentenced to nine years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and costs. Jones's appeal was assigned to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed his conviction and sentence by a vote of 6-4. This Court granted Jones's petition for writ of certiorari concerning the issue of constructive possession and the lower court's failure to grant a directed verdict. After consideration we find that Jones's conviction and sentence must be reversed and rendered.

I.

Lillian Johnson was working as a cashier at the Amoco station on Highway 613 in Jackson County on the night of March 12, 1991. That same night Imo Kibwe Jawara and Robert Lewis Jones were riding through Jackson County in Jawara's car on their way from New Orleans back to their homes in Georgia. About 9:00 p.m. the men stopped at the Amoco station on Highway 613 to put some gasoline into Jawara's car. Jackson County Sheriff Deputy Billy Thicksten was inside of the Amoco station when Jawara and Jones stopped there.

Jawara went inside the station after putting gas in his car. When he reached into his pocket for money, he pulled out a cellophane bag which appeared to Johnson to contain marijuana. About that time Deputy Ricky Rader entered the store. Johnson told Rader what she thought she had seen. Deputy Rader informed Deputy Thicksten that the cashier believed that Jawara had marijuana in his pocket. The two deputies walked out of the station just as Jawara and Jones were pulling out onto Highway 613. The deputies followed Jawara and Jones in separate vehicles as they left the station and subsequently pulled them over to the side of the road.

Jawara, who was driving, was informed that he was pulled over because of a suspected expired Georgia tag. He was then asked if his car could be searched. Jawara allegedly gave his approval of the search. Deputy Rader found a jacket in the back seat which contained a bag containing a "green leafy substance." Jones and Jawara were then arrested for possession of marijuana. Deputy Rader then inventoried the car on the scene. He found a revolver in a briefcase in the back seat and a set of scales in the car and bags containing a similar leafy substance in the trunk of the car. The total amount of marijuana seized was approximately twelve pounds. Jawara admitted that he had entered the Amoco station to pay for the gas but denied that any of the marijuana found in his car belonged to him, stating that it had been placed there by someone else in New Orleans. Jones did not testify at trial.

II.

Jones argues that his motion for directed verdict should have been granted due to insufficient evidence. Since Jones was not caught in actual possession, the rules concerning constructive possession come into play, as stated by this Court in Pool v. State, 483 So.2d 331, 336-37 (Miss.1986):

The theory of constructive possession has been explained, in Curry v. State, 249 So.2d 414 (Miss.1971), as follows:

[T]here must be sufficient facts to warrant a finding that defendant was aware of the presence and character of the particular substance and was intentionally and consciously in possession of it. It need not be actual physical possession. Constructive possession may be shown by establishing that the drug involved was subject due to his dominion or control. Proximity is usually an essential element, but by itself is not adequate in the absence of other incriminating circumstances.

Id. at 416. The theory was further defined in Hamburg v. State, 248 So.2d 430 (Miss.1971), that "one who is the owner in possession of the premises ... is presumed to be in constructive possession of the articles found in or on the property possessed." Id. at 432. This presumption is rebuttable, however, and does not relieve the State of its burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Thus, "[w]here the premises upon which contraband is found is not in the exclusive possession of the accused, the accused is entitled to acquittal, absent some competent evidence connecting him with the contraband." Powell v. State, 355 So.2d 1378, 1379 (Miss.1978). See also Keys v. State, 478 So.2d 266, 268 (Miss.1985).

In Cunningham v. State, 583 So.2d...

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16 cases
  • Wall v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • August 6, 1998
    ...... is presumed to be in constructive possession of the articles found in or on the property possessed." Id. at 432. See Jones v. State, 693 So.2d 375, 376 (Miss.1997); Townsend v. State, 681 So.2d 497, 510 (Miss.1996). In other words, the owner of a vehicle is presumed to be in constructiv......
  • Dixon v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • April 12, 2007
    ...incriminating evidence are present in the Court of Appeal's decision. The facts concerning Dixon are similar to those in Jones v. State, 693 So.2d 375, 377 (Miss.1997), where this Court reversed the possession conviction, finding no constructive possession when the only evidence connecting ......
  • Buggs v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Court of Appeals
    • April 20, 1999
    ...of the accused, the accused is entitled to acquittal, absent some competent evidence connecting him with the contraband." Jones v. State, 693 So.2d 375, 376 (Miss.1997) (citation ¶ 23. In the case sub judice, Buggs was the owner of the home and, thus, is presumed to be in constructive posse......
  • Carver v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Court of Appeals
    • November 1, 2016
    ...did not have actual possession of the drugs at issue, "the rules concerning constructive possession come into play." Jones v. State , 693 So.2d 375, 376 (Miss. 1997) ; see also Fultz v. State , 573 So.2d 689, 690 (Miss. 1990) ("The doctrine of constructive possession is a legal fiction used......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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