Opinion ID: 1058523
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence to Prove Corpus Delicti

Text: In his remaining assignment of error, Briscoe asserts that [t]he Court of Appeals erred in upholding the trial court's finding the evidence was sufficient to prove the corpus delicti of the offense of transporting cocaine into the Commonwealth. He argues that his uncorroborated confession was not sufficient to prove an essential element of this crime, specifically that he brought cocaine into the Commonwealth in violation of Code § 18.2-248.01. [6] In any criminal prosecution, the Commonwealth must prove the corpus delicti, that is, the fact that the crime charged has been actually perpetrated. Cherrix v. Commonwealth, 257 Va. 292, 305, 513 S.E.2d 642, 651 (1999). However, when an accused has fully confessed to commission of the crime, only slight corroboration of the confession is required to establish corpus delicti beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. (emphasis added); accord Clozza v. Commonwealth, 228 Va. 124, 133, 321 S.E.2d 273, 279 (1984); Campbell v. Commonwealth, 194 Va. 825, 833, 75 S.E.2d 468, 473 (1953). While an accused cannot be convicted based solely on his or her confession, [i]t is not necessary, however, that there be independent corroboration of all the contents of the confession, or even of all the elements of the crime. The requirement of corroboration is limited to the facts constituting the corpus delicti. Watkins v. Commonwealth, 238 Va. 341, 348, 385 S.E.2d 50, 54 (1989). In addition, corroborative facts supportng the corpus delicti may be furnished by circumstantial evidence as readily as by direct evidence. Id. at 349, 385 S.E.2d at 54 (citing Epperly v. Commonwealth, 224 Va. 214, 229, 294 S.E.2d 882, 891 (1982)). Following his arrest and being advised of his Miranda rights, Briscoe told police that everything taken from his apartment during the search, including the cocaine, the crack, and the plastic bags, belonged to him. He stated that the cocaine found in the kitchen sink should have been about 40 grams and that he got it from [his] man in [Washington,] D.C. two weeks ago and brought it back to Alexandria. Briscoe confessed that his most recent purchase consisted of approximately 62 grams of cocaine and that the cocaine was hard, not powder, when he bought it. When asked where he obtained cocaine, Briscoe named three main guys in Washington, D.C. as his sources. He also named five dealers to whom he sells the cocaine and explained the frequency of those sales and the profit he makes from the cocaine he buys. All of these statements were admitted into evidence during Briscoe's trial. We agree with the Court of Appeals' holding that [Briscoe's] confession that he brought the [cocaine] from D.C. to Alexandria, along with the evidence seized from his person and his apartment, sufficiently established the corpus delicti of the transportation offense. Briscoe v. Commonwealth, Record No. 1478-06-4, slip op. at 4 (January 18, 2007). The solid material cocaine seized from Briscoe's apartment was consistent with the type of cocaine he admittedly purchased two weeks before the search and the remaining 36.578 grams was consistent with the amount he purchased and the frequency of his sales during a two-week period. The presence of the cocaine, scales, weights, and plastic bags inside Briscoe's apartment provided more than the slight evidence necessary to corroborate Briscoe's confession and establish the corpus delicti beyond a reasonable doubt. See Cherrix, 257 Va. at 305, 513 S.E.2d at 651. Contrary to Briscoe's argument, the Court's decision in Phillips v. Commonwealth, 202 Va. 207, 116 S.E.2d 282 (1960), is distinguishable. There, the defendant confessed to the crime of sodomy. Id. at 209, 116 S.E.2d at 283. We held that, while the victim's possession of the defendant's vehicle corroborated the defendant's statement that he and the victim were in each other's presence at a particular time, it furnishe[d] no corroboration that the actual crime of sodomy for which [the defendant] was convicted was committed. Id. at 211, 116 S.E.2d at 285. The victim's possession of the vehicle neither established the commission of the crime nor corroborated the defendant's confession that he committed the crime of sodomy. Id. at 212, 116 S.E.2d at 285. As we have already explained, the items seized during the search of Briscoe's apartment provided the necessary corroboration to establish the corpus delicti.