Matter of TM

• Decision Date: 16 July 1990
• Docket Number: 88-892.,No. 88-887,88-887
• Citation: 577 A.2d 1149
• Parties: In the Matter of T.M., Appellant. In the Matter of J.T.M., Appellant.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

577 A.2d 1149

In the Matter of T.M., Appellant In the Matter of J.T.M., Appellant.

Nos. 88-887, 88-892^*.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued April 5, 1990.

Decided July 16, 1990.

Shirin Ikram, for appellant T.M.

David Rosenthal, for appellant J.T.M.

Charlotte M. Brookins, Asst. Corp. Counsel, with whom Herbert O. Reid, Sr., Corp. Counsel, and Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Corp. Counsel, were on the brief, for appellee District of Columbia.

Before ROGERS, Chief Judge, SCHWELB, Associate Judge, and GALLAGHER, Senior Judge.

SCHWELB, Associate Judge:

This is an unpleasant and melancholy case involving teenagers, guns, a huge stash of crack cocaine, some truly bizarre rental arrangements, and a productive search pursuant to a warrant. It had its inception in a justified and court-approved police intrusion into what used to be known as an Englishman's castle, effected with the aid of that unrelenting law enforcement tool for securing entry into crack houses and other establishments of like ilk, the battering ram. Following a joint trial, T.M. and J.T.M., both juveniles, were adjudicated delinquent for possession of an unregistered firearm, D.C.Code § 6-2311 (1989), and unlawful possession of ammunition, id. § 6-2361. They were acquitted of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Id. § 33-541 (1988). On appeal, both juveniles argue that the evidence was insufficient to support the finding of guilt of the firearm and ammunition charges. We reverse.

I

At trial, the prosecution adduced evidence that in April 1988, Francis S. James was the sole tenant of apartment 406 at 2705 Thirteenth Street in northeast Washington, D.C.¹ The apartment has a living room and two bedrooms. On or about April 3, 1988, he "rented" the apartment to "Jobba" (to whom he had been introduced by a neighbor named "Terry") for an indefinite period. The rent was to be twenty-five dollars. Mr. James related that he then left and did not return until April 9. On that day, he again "rented" the apartment, this time to T.M. and J.T.M. for twenty-five dollars, and to "Chris" and "Russ" for twenty-five dollars and some cocaine. That was the first time he met T.M. and J.T.M.

Mr. James testified that at one point on April 9 he left the apartment for a brief period. When he returned, Russ opened the door, which led into the living room. Mr. James observed a .357 magnum in Russ' waistband. He also saw a sofa which had a .45 pistol lying on one end and J.T.M. asleep on the other.² Mr. James testified that he told an older person in the room to remove the guns. Mr. James left later that day to stay with a girl friend.

On April 12, 1988, officers executed a search warrant at Mr. James' apartment. They entered the apartment by using a battering ram. Finding no one in the living room, they proceeded to the middle bedroom. Near the wall of that bedroom, in front of the closet, the officers saw a closed oatmeal box, which was later found to contain 129 bags of cocaine. On a television tray next to the window, there was a pie plate with some white powder and a razor blade on it; the powder field-tested positive for cocaine. Later analysis would reveal a fingerprint on the pie plate which belonged to one of the persons found in the bedroom, but not to either of the appellants. The officers also saw a firearm, subsequently identified as a .45 pistol, lying on top of an open overnight bag in front of the closet, next to the oatmeal box. The pistol was not loaded. A clip of .45 ammunition, containing seven rounds, was observed lying next to the pistol. Another clip with four rounds was lying about two feet away.

There were six people in the middle bedroom, including a girl in her teens who had hidden in the bedroom closet. The five who were in the bedroom itself included T.M. and J.T.M. Two officers testified that when they entered the bedroom, the occupants were attempting to hide underneath blankets and clothes that were strewn about the room. All five were approximately the same distance from the pistol, but there was at least one person between J.T.M. and the weapon.

The entire apartment was described as "messy," with items of clothing scattered on the floor. A search of the living room revealed a loaded .357 magnum and several bags of crack cocaine. In the rear bedroom, the officers found a seventh person and several rounds of .22 ammunition.

At trial, T.M. and J.T.M. offered a photograph which was identified as having been taken by a police crime scene photographer.³ The picture showed the open gym bag with a shaving kit lying where one of the government's photographs had shown the pistol to be; no weapon was visible in the respondents' picture. In addition, in the respondents' photograph, the oatmeal box was uncovered, contrary to the government's photographic evidence and the testimony of the government agents. During the government's case-in-chief, the photograph was used to impeach an officer who had related that nothing had been moved before the pictures were taken.

The judge found the evidence sufficient to prove guilt on the weapon and ammunition charges, but not with respect to the drugs:

I find each of these defendants sic on the basis of their location in that room, when the police came in and the gun being in plain sight and within easy access of anybody in that room, to be guilty of possession of a gun that had not been registered as required by law.

I find them not guilty of the charge to possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it.

I find them also guilty of possession of ammunition that would fit that .45, because it's shown there in the picture.

* * * * * *

Having heard the evidence, the Court finds the respondents guilty of possession of a gun that had not been registered as required by law, and possession of ammunition to fit a gun that was not registered as required by law.

II

Section 6-2311(a) makes it unlawful, with additions and exceptions not here relevant, for any person to "possess" or "have under his control" any unregistered firearm. Section 6-2361 contains a similar prohibition against possession of ammunition for a weapon which has not been registered. The question here presented is whether the evidence was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that each appellant possessed the pistol and ammunition, or had these items under his control, as required by sections 6-2311(a) and 6-2361.

In evaluating appellants' claim of evidentiary insufficiency, we must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, giving full play to the right of the judge, as the trier of fact, to determine credibility, weigh the evidence, and draw reasonable inferences. Irick v. United States, 565 A.2d 26, 30 (D.C.1989); Langley v. United States, 515 A.2d 729, 731 (D.C.1986). The government is entitled to the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the evidence, nor may any distinction be drawn between direct and circumstantial evidence. Irick, supra, 565 A.2d at 30; Driver v. United States, 521 A.2d 254, 259 (D.C.1987). Moreover, the evidence need not compel a finding of guilt or negate every possible inference of innocence. Irick, supra, 565 A.2d at 30-31. We will reverse on insufficiency grounds only when the government has failed to produce evidence upon which a reasonable mind might fairly find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Langley, supra, 515 A.2d at 731. These principles apply to appeals not only of criminal convictions but also of adjudications of juvenile delinquency. See, e.g., In re B.E.W., 537 A.2d 206, 207 (D.C.1988).

In the present case, there was no evidence that the pistol or ammunition ever came into the actual possession of either appellant. The government's case must therefore stand or fall on a theory of constructive possession, and the trial court based his finding of guilt squarely on that elusive concept.⁴

In Bernard v. United States, 575 A.2d 1191, 1195 (D.C.1990), we recently had occasion to summarize as follows the basic principles applicable to the doctrine of constructive possession:

No proof of actual possession of cocaine having been offered, the government's case against both men must rest on the theory that they constructively possessed this drug. To establish constructive possession, it is not sufficient for the prosecution to show that appellants were within reach of the drugs; mere proximity to an illegal item is not enough. Curry v. United States, 520 A.2d 255, 263 (D.C.1987). Rather, the government must establish that appellants knew of the location of the cocaine and that they exercised dominion and control over it. Brown v. United States, 546 A.2d 390, 394 (D.C.1988). Specifically, the prosecution was required to prove that each appellant knowingly had both the power and the intention at a given time to exercise dominion or control over the cocaine. Brown, supra, 546 A.2d at 394 n. 2 (quoting standardized jury instruction); United States v. Cousins, 427 F.2d 382, 384 (9th Cir.1970).⁵

Although we are dealing here with a weapon and ammunition, the mode of analysis remains the same. See Jefferson v. United States, 558 A.2d 298, 304 (D.C.1989), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 748, 107 L.Ed.2d 765 (1990).

III

Applying the foregoing principles to the present case, we conclude that the government did not present sufficient evidence of T.M.'s and J.T.M.'s constructive possession of the .45 pistol and the ammunition to support their adjudications. The judge, as we have noted, predicated his finding of guilt on "the gun being in plain sight and within easy access of anybody in the room." He did not expressly find that either appellant had the intent to guide the destiny of the weapon or the live rounds. Indeed, he did not allude to that question at all.⁶ We think that the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the government, falls short of demonstrating beyond a reasonable doubt that J.T.M. or T.M. harbored such an...