Title: Com. v. Montaque

State: kentucky

Issuer: Kentucky Supreme Court

Document:

23 S.W.3d 629 (2000) COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellant, v. Tamika M. MONTAQUE, Appellee. No. 1998-SC-1073-DG. Supreme Court of Kentucky. April 20, 2000. Rehearing Denied August 24, 2000. *630 A.B. Chandler III, Attorney General of Kentucky, Samuel J. Floyd, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Appellate Division, Office of the Attorney General, Frankfort, for Appellant. Elizabeth A. Shaw, Richmond, for Appellee. JOHNSTONE, Justice. Appellee, Tamika Montaque, was convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance (cocaine) in the first degree (KRS 218A.1412), possession of drug paraphernalia (KRS 218A.500), and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Additionally, she was found guilty of being in possession of a firearm at the time of the commission of these offenses which subjected her to an enhanced penalty pursuant to KRS 218 A. 992, and which possibly precluded her from probation pursuant to KRS 533.060. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred in failing to grant Montaque a directed verdict on the issue of whether she was eligible for sentence enhancement under KRS 218 A. 992. We granted discretionary review and affirm the Court of Appeals. As stated by the Court of Appeals, the relevant facts of this case are as follows: The standard of review for a trial court's factual determination on a motion for a directed verdict is set forth in the often cited case of Commonwealth v. Benham, Ky., 816 S.W.2d 186 (1991). "On appellate review, the test of a directed verdict is, if under the evidence as a whole, it would be clearly unreasonable for a jury to find guilt, only then the defendant is entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal." Id. at 187. The facts of this case are basically undisputed. Montaque admitted having possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Further, she admitted to receiving the firearm in question and hiding it in the trunk of the Cadillac. However, there is some dispute as to the extent of Montaque's control of the Cadillac at the time of her arrest. Whether these facts are sufficient to withstand a directed verdict depends on the proper construction of KRS 218 A. 992. Floyd County Board of Education v. Ratliff, Ky., 955 S.W.2d 921, 925 (1997). KRS 218 A. 992 is entitled: Enhancement of penalty when in possession of a firearm at the time of commission of offense. The statute provides in pertinent part: The statute does not require actual possession of a firearm. In Houston v. Commonwealth, Ky., 975 S.W.2d 925 (1998), we held that "a drug violation penalty may be enhanced under KRS 218 A. 992 if the violator has constructive possession of a firearm." Id. at 927. The Commonwealth argues that either no nexus between the crime and the firearm is required by the statute, or, in the alternative, that the nexus requirement is satisfied by a showing of contemporaneous possession of a firearm. If either argument is correct, then clearly the Court of Appeals erred, as there was sufficient evidence to show that Montaque was in constructive possession of a firearm at the time of her arrest. However, we disagree with the Commonwealth's interpretation of the statute and hold that the statute requires a nexus between the crime committed and the possession of a firearm. We further hold that mere contemporaneous possession of a firearm is not sufficient to satisfy the nexus requirement. Houston, supra, addressed the question of what constituted "possession" under the statute. This case requires us to interpret the meaning of the phrase, "who was, at the time of the commission of the offense, in possession of a firearm." (Emphasis added). The federal sentencing guidelines provide for a similar sentence enhancement as KRS 218 A. 992. Section 2D1.1(b)(1) of the sentencing guidelines provides for a two-level increase in a drug trafficking offense "[i]f a dangerous weapon (including a firearm) was possessed." The legislative intent and purpose behind the federal sentence enhancement is explained in the commentary to the rule: United States v. Sanchez, 928 F.2d 1450, 1459 (6th Cir.1991) (quoting application note 3). While our statute does not provide any similar commentary or guidance, weapons are no less dangerous in the hands of our all too many home-grown drug traffickers. Thus, we believe that our sentence enhancement statute serves a similar purpose as the federal sentence enhancement statute. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, the purpose of a criminal statute is to deter the commission of crimes. See generally Cox v. Commonwealth, Ky., 514 S.W.2d 49, 50 (1974). If KRS 218 A. 992 does not provide any nexus between the crime and the possession of the firearm, then a very real risk is created that the statute could be used to punish non-criminal activity, such as in the hunting rifle example above. Further, the same risk exists if the nexus requirement can be satisfied with mere contemporaneous possession of a firearm. Requiring proof of a nexus between the commission of the offense and the possession of the firearm reduces or eliminates this risk without lessening the statute's legitimate penal purpose. This leaves us the question of whether, upon the evidence presented in this case, it would be clearly unreasonable for the jury to find guilt. Benham, supra. While we decline to draw a bright-line rule to conclusively determine whether a nexus between the commission of the offense and the firearm possession has been established, we can make some general observations. First, whenever it is established that a defendant was in actual *633 possession of a firearm when arrested, or that a defendant had constructive possession of a firearm within his or her "immediate control when arrested,"[1] then, like under the federal sentencing guidelines, the Commonwealth should not have to prove any connection between the offense and the possession for the sentence enhancement to be applicable. See Sanchez, 928 F.2d at 1460. However, the defendant should be allowed to introduce evidence to the contrary, which would create an issue of fact on the issue. Next, when it cannot be established that the defendant was in actual possession of a firearm or that a firearm was within his or her immediate control upon arrest, the Commonwealth must prove more than mere possession. It must prove some connection between the firearm possession and the crime. For example, in the case at bar, if drugs had been found in the Cadillac along with the gun, then a sufficient connection would have been established to create a question of fact for the jury. Cf. Osborne v. Commonwealth, Ky., 839 S.W.2d 281, 283 (1992) (forfeiture of an automobile pursuant to KRS 218 A. 410 upheld on evidence that a marijuana plant and drug paraphernalia were found in the trunk of the vehicle). Likewise, if there was evidence that Montaque used the Cadillac in connection with or to facilitate her offenses, then the case should have gone to the jury. But in this case, there is nothing to connect the gun or the Cadillac to the possession or the trafficking of drugs. Nor was the gun in Montaque's actual possession or within her immediate control when she was arrested. Finally, we briefly address the impact of this case on our holding in Houston v. Commonwealth, Ky., 975 S.W.2d 925 (1998), in which, as noted above, we held that "a drug violation penalty may be enhanced under KRS 218 A. 992 if the violator has constructive possession of a firearm." Id. at 927. The only issue in Houston was whether the statute required actual, physical possession of a firearm before sentence enhancement was applicable. Moreover, the firearms in question in Houston were fully loaded and in plain sight and, thus, were within the defendant's immediate control. Id. at 928-29. Therefore, while our holding in this case may limit the reach of Houston, it does not overrule it. For the reasons set forth above, the opinion of the Kentucky Court of Appeals is hereby affirmed. COOPER, KELLER, and STUMBO, JJ., concur. GRAVES, J., dissents by separate opinion, with LAMBERT, C.J., and WINTERSHEIMER, J., joining that dissent. GRAVES, Justice, dissenting. Respectfully, I dissent. Appellee had an interstate drug dealing operation going on inside her apartment, while just outside the door, hidden in a car over which she had exclusive dominion and control, was a semi-automatic handgun with a box of ammunition and two ammunition clips. The Commonwealth presented legally sufficient evidence to satisfy each element of the statute, namely KRS 218 A. 992, which provides for an enhanced penalty for being in possession of a firearm when committing a drug offense. The trial court denied a directed verdict for Appellee and the jury found Appellee guilty. However, motivated by what can only be described as infused knowledge, both the majority and the Court of Appeals have grafted an additional element onto the statute. That is, the majority would require a nexus (an *634 actual active operative connection) between the commission of the drug offense and the possession of a firearm. This matter is brought into sharper focus by reviewing the unrefuted evidence of Appellee's constructive possession of the firearm in conjunction with her extensive interstate drug dealing business: Here, the majority is affirming a Court of Appeals opinion holding that the trial court erred in denying a directed verdict of acquittal because under the evidence as a whole it was clearly unreasonable for the jury to find guilt. Commonwealth v. Benham, Ky., 816 S.W.2d 186, 187 (1991). However, on a motion for a directed verdict the trial court must draw all fair and reasonable inferences from the evidence in favor of the Commonwealth. Edmonds v. Commonwealth, Ky., 906 S.W.2d 343 (1995). The majority's interpretation of KRS 218.992 is inconsistent with the plain language of the statute. The statute does not require proof of a nexus between the firearm possession and the drug offenses. All that is required is possession. Possession is a question of fact ordinarily not reviewable by an appellate court. Inherent in the concept of possession is accessibility. Here the statute was fully satisfied. There was more than sufficient evidence for the fact finder to infer a sufficient connection. Houston v. Commonwealth, Ky., 975 S.W.2d 925 (1998), holds that a drug violation penalty may be enhanced under KRS 218 A. 992 if the violator has constructive possession of a firearm. The facts in this case clearly satisfy the constructive possession requirement of Houston because the weapon was only a few feet away and retrievable in a matter of seconds. Legislatures have enhanced the penalty for possession of a firearm in connection with drug dealings because a firearm increases the likelihood and potential for greater violence. Moreover, the accessibility and proximity of semi-automatic handguns for drug dealers creates a daily and deadly challenge not only to crime control but also to public safety. Appellee did not have a mere hunting rifle in her possession, but rather she had ready access to a lethal semi-automatic handgun. This type of weapon is standard equipment for successful drug dealers. LAMBERT, C.J., and WINTERSHEIMER, J., join in this dissenting opinion. [1] See generally Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S. Ct. 2034, 23 L. Ed. 2d 685 (1969); Collins v. Commonwealth, Ky., 574 S.W.2d 296 (1978) ("The constitutionality of a search incident to an arrest turns upon whether the area searched is `within (the arrestee's) immediate control construing that phrase to mean the area from within which he might gain possession of a weapon or destructible evidence."') (Emphasis in original).