Opinion ID: 1809482
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in allowing the state to elicit evidence of the presence of marijuana and paraphernalia.

Text: In his first argument, Townsend contends that the trial court erred in allowing evidence of marijuana and syringes at his trial for possession of methamphetamine. Townsend goes further and sets out four particular instances in which such evidence was introduced over his objections, and motions for mistrial. They are: 1. that during the testimony of Mr. Terry, the State's forensic scientist, certain plant type material was identified as containing 10.2 grams of marijuana and was marked for Identification No. 2, over the objection and motion for mistrial of Townsend. 2. that cigarette type material was identified as containing 0.1 grams of marijuana and was marked for Identification No. 3. 3. that syringes, identified and marked for Identification No. 4, were introduced into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 3, also over Townsend's same objection. 4. that the 10.2 grams of marijuana, marked for Identification No. 2, was later admitted into evidence, over Townsend's same objection, as State's Exhibit No. 5. In his objection at trial, Townsend complained of the relevancy of the marijuana to the methamphetamine charge; however, on appeal, his complaint is bottomed on the prejudicial effect of the introduction of the evidence on the jury's decision. When a defendant seeks to assert grounds other than those on which his trial objection was based, it follows that this instance is not reviewable by this Court. Duplantis v. State, 644 So.2d 1235, 1247 (Miss. 1994), citing Stringer v. State, 279 So.2d 156, 158 (Miss. 1973) (objection on one or more specific grounds constitutes a waiver of all other grounds); McGarrh v. State, 249 Miss. 247, 276, 148 So.2d 494, 506 (1963) (objection cannot be enlarged in reviewing court to embrace omission not complained of at trial). Thus, this issue is procedurally barred, as Townsend is seeking review on a new ground. Without relaxing the procedural bar, we will alternatively review the merits. In order to enter into evidence the finding of the marijuana, the State argued that the evidence was so intertwined that to refuse to admit it would deny the jury essential pieces of the evidentiary puzzle. The trial judge agreed, as is evinced in his statement: During voir-dire, I noted the District Attorney confined his remarks to the case that is charged in the indictment as that being possession of methamphetamine, and that upon further voir-dire by Mr. Brooks, there was some voir-dire of this jury that this is not a marijuana case, it is just a case of methamphetamine, statements to the effect that would be a separate trial and tried in another case, and not to consider the marijuana as any evidence of guilt of this Defendant. (emphasis added). I think that this evidence is admissible, because of the res gestae rule, in that in the search of that vehicle and its contents, there was found evidence of methamphetamine and also in the same area, the marijuana with the paraphernalia. I don't see hardly how the testimony can be separated of the findings within the bag, so as not to confuse this jury. I think the totality of the entire situation stresses the need for all of the evidence to come in, since they are the trier of facts of the case. So, for that reason, I think this evidence is admissible. Then for, again, because of the voir-dire of the jury by counsel, I think the door was opened, and it is admissible. Now I think you are entitled, Mr. Brooks, to a jury instruction, and I will give it, that this jury shall not consider the presence of marijuana or paraphernalia as any evidence of guilt against this Defendant in the crime charged of that of possession of methamphetamine. The above statements tell much about the events at trial that day. It was Townsend's defense counsel who started the ball rolling in voir-dire, by hinting that other drugs were involved beside the charged methamphetamine, and that these other drugs should not be taken into consideration when deciding guilt on the possession of methamphetamine. The general rule is that the introduction into evidence of unlawful substances not mentioned in the indictment for possession of a controlled substance is reversible error unless the introduction was necessary for identity, intent or motive, and was not so interwoven with other crimes that it could not be separated. Bolin v. State, 489 So.2d 1091 (Miss. 1986). Generally, evidence of a crime other than that charged in indictment is not admissible against the accused; however, where another crime or act is so interrelated to the charged crime so as to constitute a single transaction or occurrence or a closely related series of transactions or occurrences, proof of the other crime or act is admissible. Duplantis v. State, 644 So.2d 1235 (Miss. 1994). Evidence of another offense is admissible if that offense is so clearly interrelated to the charged crime as to form single transaction or closely related series of transactions. Mackbee v. State, 575 So.2d 16 (Miss. 1990). It must be integrally related to time, place, and fact to that for which defendant stands trial. McFee v. State, 511 So.2d 130 (Miss. 1987). In other words, the evidence is essential for telling the total, rational, and coherent story. Hurns v. State, 616 So.2d 313 (Miss. 1993). In this case, the trial judge is correct that introduction of the other illegal substances found along with the methamphetamine was necessary to tell the entire, coherent story. Defense counsel already spilled the beans about the existence of other drugs beside methamphetamine during voir-dire. The testimony elicited about the marijuana, the cigarette-type marijuana, and the syringes, were integral to the same time, place, and fact to the charge for methamphetamine. They were all found in the same black vinyl bag on defendant's car floorboard. It is definitely part of the same transaction, or part of a closely-related transaction. Perhaps the existence of the marijuana and other elements could have been separate, i.e. not so intertwined, at one point, but defense counsel opened the door for their introduction by hinting at their existence during voir-dire. Thus, the prosecution elicited testimony from the State's witness, Charles Terry, about what other items were found in the bag, along with the methamphetamine. Terry responded by describing the scientific methods used to determine what the substance was, and then, naming the substance by quantity. While there was objection from defense counsel, the objection was fashioned in terms of lack of relevancy, not prejudice v. probativeness. Each objection was overruled. Now, Townsend cites Bolin v. State, 489 So.2d 1091 (Miss. 1986), to support his position that other crimes are inadmissible. Bolin was convicted of possession of meperidine. The trial court there improperly allowed the prosecution to introduce into evidence several other illicit drugs not specified in the indictment and for which the defendant was not being tried. There, in reversing and remanding, this Court, relied on the general rule, and found that [t]he introduction of the contraband not included in the indictment, in our opinion, was not necessary for identity, intent or motive, nor is it so interwoven with other crimes that it cannot be separated; neither is scienter or guilty knowledge an essential element of the crime of unlawful possession. The present indictment charges a possessory crime, a crime prohibited by law, rather than a violation of law which is inherently wrong. The issue is not one of guilty intent or the intent to do something morally wrong but only an intent to possess an illegal substance. Bolin, 489 So.2d at 1092. (citations omitted). Bolin does not reveal what the circumstances of the arrest were, nor does it speak to whether the other crimes introduced were past crimes. The following year, this Court in Shoemaker v. State, 502 So.2d 1193, 1195 (Miss. 1987), referred to Bolin, as holding that evidence of past crimes not resulting in convictions is generally inadmissible. Bolin is different from the case at bar. The case at bar is not dealing with past crimes. It deals with illegal substances found at the same time, same place, same bag, as the illegal substance listed on the indictment form. Thus, the other substances (marijuana and syringes) are interwoven or inseparable from the charged offense. Rule 404(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence precludes evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts to show that the defendant acted in conformity therewith. However, if evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is offered to prove motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident, it is admissible under M.R.E. 404(b). Lewis v. State, 573 So.2d 719, 722 (Miss. 1990) (citations omitted). The concern behind admitting other crimes is that the jury might believe that defendant acted in conformity with his past crime, and such constitutes prejudice and reversible error. Rose v. State, 556 So.2d 728, 731 (Miss. 1990); Houston v. State, 531 So.2d 598, 605 (Miss. 1988). However, in this case, it is not a past crime that is being introduced. It is essentially different parts of the same crime or transaction. Evidence is admissible as showing res gestae of crime, if evidence tends to show part of the entire transaction. Wade v. State, 583 So.2d 965 (Miss. 1991). [A]rticles ... found near the place or scene of crime or near the place where the defendant was arrested, have been admitted in evidence. (citation omitted). This is true even where it is not claimed nor proved that they were used in the commission of the alleged crime in cases where the evidence has probative weight, or where they constitute a part of the surrounding scene or picture... . Wilkins v. State, 264 So.2d 411 (Miss. 1972). This general principle of Wilkins highlights the situation at bar, even though that case dealt with the commission of burglary, not narcotics. Thus, the jury could be told about the presence of the other illegal substances, since it was interwoven to the crime scene. Moreover, the jury especially needed to be told about the other elements found once their curiosity was peaked by defense counsel's remarks during voir-dire. There is nothing wrong with the trier admitting the evidence of the marijuana, the cigarette-type marijuana, and the syringes, especially, in light of his repeated verbal admonition to the jury that the evidence would not be weighed towards finding guilt, and the jury instruction given the defendant reflecting that principle. Shoemaker v. State, 502 So.2d 1193, 1195 (Miss. 1987), dealt with a trial judge who took a curative measure after the jury was told about the defendant's prior misdemeanor record. There also, the defense counsel objected and asked for a mistrial. The trier in Shoemaker did not grant the mistrial, but instructed the jury to completely disregard that question and to not have any inference in [its] mind from the fact that [the prosecution] started into some question about an incident of a similar nature [to the one at bar]. Id. at 1195. We found that the lower court was not required to grant a mistrial because of the thorough curative measure employed by the trial judge gave us the confidence that the inflammatory material had no harmful effect on the jury. Id. Thus, under these guiding principles, we must analyze the situation in terms of whether there was prejudice to the jury, and whether the trial judge cured the prejudice. Here, like the Shoemaker trial judge, the lower court cured the perceived unfairness through the giving of the Defense's instruction D-6, which reads: The Court instructs the jury that you are not [to] consider the evidence of marihuana [sic] and/or paraphernalia in this case as evidence of the Defendant's guilt of the crime for which he is being tried. Thus, pursuant to our holding in Shoemaker, we again find that jury instructions can cure defects by admitting evidence of crimes not charged. See Shoemaker, 502 So.2d at 1195. Common sense dictates that the trial judge will ordinarily be in a better position to assess the amount of prejudice resulting from such an incident than we are on appeal. Id. Admission of evidence and testimony about evidence is within the broad discretion of the trial court, requiring a reversal only on a demonstrable abuse of that discretion. Wade v. State, 583 So.2d 965 (Miss. 1991). We abide by the lower court's decision again today as he was in a better position to assess and cure any prejudice, and because there was no abuse of his discretion. First, this issue is procedurally barred. Second, and alternatively on the merits, there was no error for introducing the marijuana and the syringes into evidence, as it was first brought up by the defense counsel, it was interwoven to the charged crime, and it was necessary for a coherent picture. Moreover, any prejudice was cured by the judge's instruction to the jury not to consider the side items to prove guilt of the charged crime.