Williams v. State, 91-565
| Citation | 592 So.2d 737 |
| Decision Date | 06 January 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-565,91-565 |
| Parties | 17 Fla. L. Weekly D196 John WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and Steven A. Rothenburg, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Sara D. Baggett, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
A jury found appellant guilty as charged of the offenses of conspiracy to traffic in 28 or more grams of cocaine, possession of cocaine, and sale of cocaine. Appellant challenges only the sufficiency of the circumstantial evidence to sustain his conviction of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. We reverse.
Appellant's arrest and subsequent conviction occurred in the context of a controlled buy by an undercover officer, based on information from a confidential source who had worked with the officer on prior occasions. The trial testimony pertinent to the charge of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine established that the confidential source arranged a telephone contact between the undercover officer and appellant's co-defendant. During this telephone conversation, the undercover officer advised that she desired to purchase one or more ounces of cocaine. According to the confidential source, the undercover officer was supposed to pay $2,000 for two ounces of cocaine.
Appellant and his co-defendant did not have the cocaine with them at their initial meeting with the confidential source and the undercover officer; appellant and the co-defendant then left, ostensibly to obtain the cocaine, arranging to meet the buyers (the undercover officer and the confidential source) at a laundromat. At the second meeting, appellant and his co-defendant joined the undercover officer and the confidential source in the officer's car. The co-defendant directed the officer to drive around; as the officer drove, appellant showed her a slab of crack cocaine purportedly worth $600. The testimony of the confidential source reflects that appellant agreed to a "big deal," but no specific amount of cocaine was mentioned when appellant was present.
The undercover officer's testimony reflects her understanding that the transaction would involve one ounce of cocaine for $1,300. She was provided with $1,000 for the cocaine purchase. When the officer received the cocaine from appellant, she remarked that it seemed a "little shy of an ounce," whereupon appellant remarked that he could get more later. The transaction was then completed, and appellant and his co-defendant were arrested. The evidence at trial established that the substance sold by appellant to the undercover officer was cocaine, and that it weighed approximately seventeen grams. 1
To support a conviction for trafficking in cocaine, or conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, the state must prove that the amount of cocaine involved was 28 grams or more. Section 893.135(1)(b)1, Fla.Stat. (1989). The crime of conspiracy consists of an express or implied agreement between two or more persons to commit a criminal offense, and the intention to commit the offense. Munroe v. State, 514 So.2d 397, 400 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), review denied, 519 So.2d 987 (Fla.1988); Orantes v. State, 452 So.2d 68, 70 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied, 461 So.2d 115 (Fla.1984); Pino v. State, 573 So.2d 151, 152 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Kocol v. State, 546 So.2d 1159, 1160 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). Circumstantial evidence alone will support the existence of a conspiracy. Wilder v. State, 587 So.2d 543, 545-47 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Munroe v. State, 514 So.2d at 400; Edwards v. State, 516 So.2d 285 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).
A special standard of review of sufficiency of the evidence applies when a conviction is based wholly on circumstantial evidence. State v. Law, 559 So.2d 187, 188 (Fla.1989); Jaramillo v. State, 417 So.2d 257 (Fla.1982). "Where the only proof of guilt is circumstantial, no matter how strongly the evidence may suggest guilt, a conviction cannot be sustained unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence." State v. Law, 559 So.2d at 188, citing McArthur v. State, 351 So.2d 972 (Fla.1977). That is, the court must determine as a threshold matter whether the state produced competent, substantial evidence to contradict the defendant's story. Fowler v. State, 492 So.2d 1344, 1347 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), review denied, 503 So.2d 328 (Fla.1987). See also Kocol v. State, 546 So.2d at 1160.
In Kocol, as in the instant case, the issue concerned the sufficiency of the evidence to establish that the contemplated transaction involved the 28 grams or more of cocaine necessary to sustain a conviction for trafficking in cocaine. The evidence at trial...
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...in Spera, which involved similar facts. See 656 So.2d at 552. Brooks relies on the First District's decision in Williams v. State, 592 So.2d 737 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), to support his contention that the evidence in this case was insufficient to find him guilty of attempted trafficking in coca......
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