Case Name: Don F. FERGUSON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee
Court: Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
Decision Date: 1982-05-11
Citations: 645 P.2d 1021
Docket Number: No. F-80-820
Parties: Don F. FERGUSON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
Judges: BUSSEY, J., specially concurs.
Reporter: Pacific Reporter 2d
Volume: 645
Pages: 1021–1025

Head Matter:
Don F. FERGUSON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
No. F-80-820.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.
May 11, 1982.
David Luther Woodward, Appellate Public Defender, Norman, for appellant.
Jan Eric Cartwright, Atty. Gen., David W. Lee, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chief, Criminal Div., Oklahoma City, for appellee.

Opinion:
OPINION
CORNISH, Judge:
Appellant, Don Ferguson, was convicted of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute in Comanche County District Court. A sentence of three years' imprisonment and a fine of $1,000 plus court costs was imposed.
The facts adduced at trial indicate that several Lawton police officers and agents of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics were conducting surveillance on the Lawton residence of one Southwood. The officers observed the appellant drive up to the residence and alight from his automobile carrying a green canvas bag. Appellant spent several minutes in the Southwood residence and then left with the same bag. The police officers arrested the appellant as he approached his car and searched the canvas bag which contained a scale and marijuana.
As his first proposition of error, appellant alleges the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion to suppress the evidence resulting from the search of the canvas bag. He contends that his arrest was not predicated upon probable cause and any evidence resulting from this arrest was, therefore, inadmissible. Appellant, however, failed to designate any record for appeal except that made during the actual trial of the case on April 17, 1980. No objection was made to the admission of this evidence at trial, nor was there information in this record on the issue of probable cause. When the appellant fails to submit a sufficient record, the error has not been properly preserved for appeal. Hanna v. State, 560 P.2d 985 (Okl.Cr.1977).
Despite the appellant's failure to preserve this issue for appeal, this Court takes notice of the record in Case No. F-80-719 which contains the transcripts necessary for this Court to rule on the validity of the search. The transcript indicates that appellant was arrested after leaving the Southwood residence because a police officer concealed inside the house had heard the appellant make a sale of narcotics to South-wood. This information was relayed to the officers outside who then made the arrest. The information was sufficient probable cause on which to base the arrest.
The search of the canvas bag subsequent to the appellant's arrest did not violate his constitutional rights. The canvas bag was within the appellant's "immediate control" as defined in Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969). In Chimel the Supreme Court held that a lawful custodial arrest creates a situation in which a contemporaneous, warrantless search of the arrestee and the immediately surrounding area is permissible.
As his second proposition of error, the appellant asserts that due to his indi-gency, the one thousand dollar ($1,000) fine imposed by the trial court was improper. The fine is within the five thousand dollar ($5,000) limit imposed by 63 O.S.Supp.1981, § 2-401, and therefore not excessive.
Appellant next asserts error in the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on circumstantial evidence, even though such an instruction was not requested. When the entirety of the evidence presented is circumstantial, the court is required to instruct the jury on circumstantial evidence even in the absence of such a request by defense counsel. Dunford v. State, 614 P.2d 1115 (Okl.Cr.1980). However, substantial direct evidence consisting of the marijuana and scales appropriate for weighing it was properly admitted by the trial court. Since the evidence consisted of both direct and circumstantial evidence, the trial court did not err in failing to instruct on circumstantial evidence absent a request by the appellant for such an instruction. Grimmett v. State, 572 P.2d 272 (Okl.Cr.1977).
Appellant contends that the State failed to prove the element of intent. This Court has on numerous occasions found that possession of marijuana and other paraphe-nalia which could be used for either weighing or packaging it was sufficient evidence from which the trier of fact could determine there was intent to distribute. Chasteen v. State, 551 P.2d 1171 (Okl.Cr.1976); King v. State, 562 P.2d 902 (Okl.Cr.1977).
As his final proposition of error, appellant contends that he was denied adequate representation of counsel in that the standard of reasonable competence was not achieved. At the outset it should be noted that this Court adopted the standard of reasonable competence test in Johnson v. State, 620 P.2d 1311 (Okl.Cr.1980) to be applied prospectively to cases after October 22, 1980. Appellant was tried on April 17, 1980, making the revised standard inapplicable. Judged by either the standard of reasonable competence or its predecessor the "sham and mockery" standard, appellant's assertion is without merit.
Appellant's charge of ineffective assistance of counsel is based primarily on his attorney's failure to pursue a ruling at trial on the motion to suppress and several stipulations by the attorney during trial. Although counsel did not properly preserve the ruling on the motion to suppress for review, the admission of the evidence was, in fact, examined by this Court and found to be proper. Therefore, any error committed by counsel did not prejudice appellant. As to the stipulations made at trial regarding the identification and admission of the marijuana and scales, these actions represented a viable trial strategy and cannot be construed as incompetent.
It is therefore the decision of this Court that the judgment and sentence be AFFIRMED.
BUSSEY, J., specially concurs.
BRETT, P. J., dissents.
. Case No. F-80-719, 644 P.2d 121, Okl.Cr., is an appeal by this appellant from his conviction for the crime of Unlawful Delivery of a Controlled Substance in Comanche County Case No. CRF-79-383. Accord, New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 2860, 69 L.Ed.2d 768 (1981).