State v. Phillips

• Decision Date: 29 February 2000
• Docket Number: No. 19,990.,19,990.
• Citation: 128 N.M. 777,999 P.2d 421
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tina PHILLIPS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

999 P.2d 421

128 N.M. 777

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tina PHILLIPS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 19,990.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

February 29, 2000.

Certiorari Denied March 31, 2000.

Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Patricia Gandert, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, for Appellee.

Phyllis H. Subin, Chief Public Defender, Susan Gibbs, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, for Appellant.

Certiorari Denied, No. 26,222, March 31, 2000.

OPINION

BOSSON, Judge.

{1} Defendant appeals from her criminal convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine. See NMSA 1978, § 30-31-23 (1990) (controlled substance); NMSA 1978, § 30-31-25.1 (1997) (paraphernalia). In this opinion, we first discuss the elements of constructive possession in the context of a shared living arrangement and the evidence required to sustain a conviction. Second, we discuss whether the trial court erred under evidentiary Rules 11-403 and 11-404(B) NMRA 2000, by permitting the State to introduce evidence of drug possession and distribution by other residents who were on the premises at the time of the search. We affirm Defendant's convictions.

BACKGROUND

{2} Acting on a confidential informant's tip, Farmington police secured a warrant to search a mobile home for narcotics. In the course of the search, the police seized methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia from various locations within the mobile home. Several people including Defendant were arrested inside the mobile home. As a result of the search, the owner of the mobile home pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine. His son was charged with possession of marijuana recovered from his pocket during the search. Another occupant had drug paraphernalia in his pocket and was charged with possession.

{3} Defendant lived with James Ambrose in one small bedroom of the mobile home. They had lived together for over a year and had resided in the mobile home for a couple of months. Both Defendant and Ambrose were present at the time of the search. While searching this particular bedroom, the police discovered methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in two small boxes located in a dresser drawer. Ambrose pleaded guilty to possession, but Defendant denied possession claiming that the seized drugs and paraphernalia belonged to Ambrose and not to her. Both at the time of the search and later, Ambrose consistently supported Defendant's denial by asserting exclusive ownership of all illicit material in the bedroom.

{4} Ambrose's claim of exclusive ownership was hotly contested at trial. During the search, Ambrose had been unable to provide the police with specific details when questioned about the contents of the dresser drawer. For example, while Ambrose described a yellow box in the dresser drawer containing some syringes and possibly some left over methamphetamine, he could not elaborate in any further detail. In contrast, the police inventory of the dresser drawer revealed two boxes, one yellow and one turquoise, both containing multiple syringes, one loaded with methamphetamine solution ready to inject, 1.4 grams of methamphetamine powder, two small spoons, two large spoons, two bowls, cotton balls, scales, and two vials of what appeared to be nail polish remover.

{5} At trial, the State maintained that Ambrose was lying to protect Defendant and that both Defendant and Ambrose had joint, constructive possession of all the drugs and paraphernalia in the bedroom. Defendant conceded that she had used methamphetamine in the past with Ambrose, and she acknowledged to the police that she knew about the syringes in the boxes. However, Defendant denied actual knowledge of the methamphetamine discovered in those same boxes. The officer who took Defendant's statement testified at trial that, in his opinion, the drugs belonged to both Ambrose and Defendant, and that Ambrose was covering for Defendant.

{6} Before trial, Defendant filed a motion in limine seeking, among other things, to exclude from evidence any mention of drugs found in the possession of other occupants of the mobile home. Defense counsel argued the motion in limine the morning of trial, and the court denied the motion with respect to drugs found in the possession of the other occupants. The court did exclude other evidence not relevant to this opinion. As a result of the court's ruling, the State was allowed to elicit evidence that all the other occupants were caught with drugs at the time of the search, and that the mobile home was therefore a "drug house." On appeal, Defendant challenges the admission of this evidence of criminal acts by third parties, claiming that she was convicted on a theory of guilt by association. Before discussing the evidentiary issues, we turn first to the State's theory of constructive possession.

DISCUSSION

{7} Defendant's first challenge on appeal goes to the sufficiency of the evidence that she constructively possessed the drugs found in her room. To resolve a sufficiency of the evidence claim, this Court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, resolving all conflicts and granting all inferences in a manner that supports the decision below. See State v. Sanders, 117 N.M. 452, 456, 872 P.2d 870, 874 (1994). Circumstantial evidence may be sufficient to support a verdict for constructive possession, as long as a rational jury "has necessarily found the hypothesis of guilt more reasonable than any of the theories of innocence advanced by the defendant." State v. Chandler, 119 N.M. 727, 732, 895 P.2d 249, 254 (Ct.App.1995). When evidence is insufficient to find a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, then the verdict violates constitutional due process rights and dismissal of the charge is warranted. See State v. Hernandez, 1997-NMCA-006, ¶ 38, 122 N.M. 809, 932 P.2d 499; see also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 316, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

Constructive Possession

{8} Constructive possession exists when the accused has knowledge of drugs or paraphernalia and exercises control over them. See State v. Brietag, 108 N.M. 368, 370, 772 P.2d 898, 900 (Ct.App.1989). When the accused does not have exclusive control over the premises where the drugs are found, the mere presence of the contraband is not enough to support an inference of constructive possession. Id. at 371, 772 P.2d at 901. Additional circumstances or incriminating statements are required. Id. The accused's own conduct may afford sufficient additional circumstances for constructive possession. See State v. Donaldson, 100 N.M. 111, 119, 666 P.2d 1258, 1266 (Ct.App.1983). It is undisputed that "[t]wo or more people can have possession of an object at the same time." UJI 14-130 NMRA 2000. Even if someone else claims possession of the drugs and exercises control over them, the accused "could also have had sufficient knowledge and control to be in constructive possession." State v. Muniz, 110 N.M. 799, 802, 800 P.2d 734, 737 (Ct.App.1990).

{9} In this case, Defendant did not have exclusive control over the bedroom; she shared it with Ambrose. Accordingly, we must examine the evidence for "additional facts that connect the defendant to the location of the drugs," beyond the mere presence of contraband on the premises. Brietag, 108 N.M. at 371, 772 P.2d at 901.

{10} Perhaps the most damaging evidence against Defendant is the inventory of paraphernalia seized from the dresser drawer. There were two boxes, two small spoons, two large spoons, two bowls, two vials of what appeared to be nail polish remover, and numerous syringes. Except for the numerous syringes, all of the paraphernalia were in pairs. Even the syringes had a paired, color coding scheme; some were gold and others silver. A jury could rationally infer from the duplicate sets that one set belonged to Defendant and the other to Ambrose, and that they shared the 1.4 grams of methamphetamine together. These additional circumstances, beyond the mere presence of drugs, are exactly what helps create an inference of constructive possession. Compare Brietag, 108 N.M. at 370-71, 772 P.2d at 900-01 (dismissing possession charge when no additional circumstances linked the accused to drugs), with Muniz, 110 N.M. at 800-02, 800 P.2d. at 735-37 (finding that the defendant's statements provided sufficient inference of constructive possession).

{11} In addition, the jury was reasonably entitled to assume that there was only one dresser in this small bedroom and that it was likely shared by both residents. Neither Defendant nor any other witness described more than one dresser. A police officer testified that Ambrose's pay check stub and some "jewelry items" were on the top of the dresser, but other than the contraband at issue the contents of the dresser are not part of the record. Cf. Muniz, 110 N.M. at 801,800 P.2d at 736 (finding that mere silence concerning other contents of a room does not defeat an inference of constructive possession). Although Defendant's belongings were in the bedroom, she claimed that she "hardly ever looked in the [dresser] drawer." The jury, of course, was free to discredit this claim and could rationally have concluded that Defendant was well aware of the dresser's contents and shared it with Ambrose.

{12} Aside from the physical evidence, the State also put forth Defendant's own incriminating statements. At the time of the police search, Defendant admitted knowing of the paraphernalia discovered in the dresser drawer. She conceded using drugs with Ambrose in the past, although she denied knowing of the particular drugs seized during the search. After the police advised Defendant of her Miranda rights, she questioned the validity of her arrest stating, "Excuse me, you know I thought that in order to be charged with possession [of drugs], you actually had to have it on you." The State later used this statement as a tacit admission of...