Pressley v. State, 97-1991
| Decision Date | 01 July 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-1991,97-1991 |
| Citation | 712 So.2d 1240 |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly D1598 Robert PRESSLEY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Tatjana Ostapoff, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Denise M. Mitchell, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.
We reverse Defendant's conviction and sentence for possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana. Denial of Defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal was error, as the state failed to prove that Defendant had knowledge of the presence of contraband found in a car which Defendant jointly possessed. Although the car was his sister's, Defendant, the driver, was the primary user. There were two passengers in the car with Defendant at the time of the arrest. If an area is only in a defendant's joint possession, his knowledge of the presence of contraband and his ability to maintain control over it will not be inferred but must be established by other proof. See Brown v. State, 412 So.2d 420 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), approved, 428 So.2d 250 (Fla.1983).
The investigating officer approached Defendant's car at night and noticed the smell of marijuana. He shined a flashlight into the car and illuminated a particle of rock cocaine measuring only 1/16th of an inch, and weighing only .05 grams. It was located in a seam on the driver's side of the front bench seat of the car, where the back and the seat meet. Small amounts of marijuana residue and seeds were also found on the floor of the car. Food particles were scattered throughout the car, including remnants from a hamburger, french fries, potato chips, peanut shells, and various crumbs. When the light focused on the area where the cocaine was found, Defendant indicated that he thought the substance was part of a potato chip. However, we do not deem this comment as indicative of guilty knowledge given this setting.
We find that the state failed to sufficiently establish Defendant's knowledge of the presence of the illegal drugs. This and other courts have refused to find constructive possession where there were even more incriminating factors than those in the instant case. See In Interest of E.H., 579 So.2d 364 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (); Williams v. State, 573 So.2d 124 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (); McClain v. State, 559 So.2d 425 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Hively v. State, 336 So.2d 127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976) (...
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Earle v. State, No. 98-4393
...a conviction in Green and McClain. The cocaine was not in plain sight, but was concealed behind a door panel. See Pressley v. State, 712 So.2d 1240, 1241 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). The vehicle was owned by Earle's wife. Earle and Green did not attempt to elude the police. Cf. State v. St. Jean, 6......
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Daniels v. State, 4D00-1421.
...no evidence that defendant knew of illicit nature of marijuana cigarette or that she knew it was in her presence); Pressley v. State, 712 So.2d 1240 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (reversing conviction for possession of cocaine and marijuana where state failed to establish defendant's knowledge of the......
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Thomas v. State, 99-0985.
...that Thomas had knowledge of its presence and/or illicit nature. As such, we hold reversal is required. See Pressley v. State, 712 So.2d 1240, 1240-41 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)(reversing conviction of possession of cocaine and marijuana where state did not establish Pressley's knowledge of the pr......
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JM v. State, 4D02-1967.
...This alone failed to establish that appellant knew about the presence of the contraband or of its illicit nature. See Pressley v. State, 712 So.2d 1240 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)(discussing that state failed to establish defendant's knowledge of illegal drugs where small particle of crack cocaine ......