COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Willis, Bumgardner and Senior Judge Overton 

Argued at Richmond, Virginia 

TAMIR M. TAYLOR 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY 

v. Record No. 0411-99-2 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR. 

 MAY 9, 2000 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF HENRICO COUNTY 

George F. Tidey, Judge 

 Darryl A. Parker for appellant. 

 Marla Graff Decker, Assistant Attorney 

General (Mark L. Earley, Attorney General; 

Leah A. Darron, Assistant Attorney General, 

on brief), for appellee. 

 On appeal from her conviction of felony child neglect, in 

violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(B), Tamir M. Taylor contends that 

the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. We 

affirm. 

 Code § 18.2-371.1(B) provides: "Any parent, guardian, or 

other person responsible for the care of a child under the age 

of eighteen whose willful act or omission in the care of such 

child was so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless 

disregard for human life shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony." 

 

* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code 

§ 17-116.010, this opinion is not designated for publication.
 "Where the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged after 

conviction, it is our duty to consider it in the light most 

favorable to the Commonwealth and give it all reasonable 

inferences fairly deducible therefrom. We should affirm the 

judgment unless it appears from the evidence that the judgment 

is plainly wrong or without evidence to support it." 

Higginbotham v. Commonwealth, 216 Va. 349, 352, 218 S.E.2d 534, 

537 (1975)). 

 On April 18, 1998, Taylor invited Henrico County police 

officers inside her apartment, where the officers immediately 

noticed smoke and smelled marijuana. Several adults, who had 

been in the living room, ran to the rear of the apartment. 

Based on their observations, the officers secured the apartment 

and obtained a search warrant. 

 Sitting in the living room throughout the incident was 

Taylor's six-year-old daughter, Malise. Upon searching Malise's 

bedroom, the officers found a juvenile male, in possession of 

marijuana, hiding in the child's closet. Two loaded handguns 

were lying on her bed. A large plastic container and a shoebox 

lid, both containing marijuana residue, were sitting on her 

dresser. Several bags of marijuana were found under her bed, 

near her closet, and elsewhere in her room. 

 In Taylor's bedroom, police found more bags of marijuana, 

partially burned marijuana cigarettes, and an assault rifle 

hidden in the air conditioning duct. More marijuana, packaging 

- 2 -
supplies, and another weapon were found elsewhere in the 

apartment. Taylor told police that some of the contraband 

belonged to her boyfriend, who spent nights in the apartment. 

She admitted that her boyfriend was a drug dealer who carried 

guns to protect his drugs and money. 

 Malise was present in the living room while armed adults 

were preparing marijuana for sale. Drug deals had been made in 

and around Malise's presence. Taylor acknowledged that drug 

dealing was a violent activity and that her boyfriend was a drug 

dealer. 

 Taylor exposed Malise directly to drug dealing and its 

hazards, as well as to loaded firearms. She thus showed a 

culpable disregard for the child's life. Further, evidence 

showed that the air in the apartment was thick with marijuana 

smoke. Police found in Malise's room a nebulizer machine and 

prescription medications used to treat severe cases of asthma. 

Malise's condition was so severe that, in the past, Taylor had 

needed to take her to the emergency room for treatment. Heavy 

smoke exacerbates respiratory ailments such as asthma. 

 Taylor willfully, wantonly, and culpably allowed in her 

home activities that exposed Malise to drug activity, loaded 

weapons, and risk of death. By smoking marijuana in the 

apartment and by allowing the air in the apartment to be 

saturated with smoke, Taylor showed a reckless and wanton 

- 3 -
disregard for Malise's life and health. Proof of such conduct 

supports Taylor's conviction. 

 The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. 

 Affirmed.

- 4 -