Williams v. Com., 2216-94-1
| Decision Date | 21 November 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 2216-94-1,2216-94-1 |
| Citation | 21 Va.App. 263,463 S.E.2d 679 |
| Parties | Andre L. WILLIAMS v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Record |
| Court | Virginia Court of Appeals |
Benjamin M. Mason (Mason & Mason, on brief), Newport News, for appellant.
Steven A. Witmer, Assistant Attorney General (James S. Gilmore, III, Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
Present: BAKER, WILLIS and BRAY, JJ.
On appeal from his convictions of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and importation of cocaine into the Commonwealth, Andre L. Williams contends (1) that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the cocaine found on his person and (2) that the evidence is insufficient to prove he imported more than one ounce of cocaine into the Commonwealth. The judgments of the trial court are affirmed.
On both January 30 and February 6, 1993, Williams purchased a round-trip ticket from Newport News to New York City, all travel to be completed in one day. He paid cash for the tickets in five, ten and twenty-dollar used bills. He traveled under the names Johnson and Henderson, respectively. U.S. Air ticket agent, Brenda Rummings, recognized Williams and realized he was using different names. Her suspicion aroused, she reported this information to her supervisor, Cathy Reiger.
Both Ms. Rummings and Ms. Reiger met with Officer Safranek of the airport police and gave him the information about Williams' travel and his description. Safranek went to the final check-in waiting area, where the two women pointed out Williams. Safranek telephoned the Newport News Police Department and arranged to meet Sergeant Dawes from vice-narcotics at the airport at 8:00 p.m. They confirmed that Williams was on the return flight to Newport News and was wearing the clothing that Rummings had described.
After Williams disembarked from the plane, Safranek approached him and said, Williams' reply was not understandable. Safranek repeated his request. Williams replied, "No," gave a "head fake," and ran. He was caught by Sergeants Dawes and Davenport. Immediately upon being apprehended, Williams said, "It's in my coat pocket." Williams was removed to a prearranged area, where he was searched. A package wrapped in brown tape was removed from his sweatshirt pocket, and another package was removed from his crotch. Both packages contained cocaine.
Williams was advised of his Miranda rights. In response to the officers' questions, Williams
stated that the stuff was his, that he had gone to New York to pick it up, that he had gone up there with $10,000 and this was what he had come back with. He stated there was approximately 19 ounces of powder and one ounce of crack cocaine.... He also stated this was his second trip, that on the first trip, he brought back about half that amount. He stated ... that he carried all his business to Norfolk.
Sergeant Dawes testified that based on his fifteen years of experience working in narcotics and on several thousand arrests, he suspected narcotics activity after speaking with Safranek. He based his suspicion upon his knowledge (1) that New York was a source for narcotics, (2) that Newport News was used as an entry point for narcotics into the Commonwealth, (3) that the use of aliases was common among persons involved in drug activity, and (4) that paying cash in small bills for plane tickets was indicative of drug activity. Dawes also testified that the amount of cocaine found on Williams was inconsistent with personal use.
Williams contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress as evidence the cocaine found...
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