Opinion ID: 1286606
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: The Appellant argues that the circuit court erred by not granting his post-trial Motion for Judgment of Acquittal when the Appellee produced no evidence of a conspiracy occurring in Calhoun County. The Appellant maintains that because Mr. Jones denied his involvement in the conspiracy during his testimony at trial when he testified that the did not manufacture the methamphetamine or purchase the ingredients, there was no evidence that a conspiracy had occurred. The Appellant argues that based on the evidence, he should have been convicted of operating a clandestine laboratory, and manufacturing a controlled substance, but not conspiracy. In contrast, the Appellee argues that while Mr. Jones testified that he had no knowledge of the Appellant placing methamphetamine precursors and material to produce the drug in his home, Mr. Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy. The Appellee also asserts that Mr. Jones testified that he smelled something funny in his home while the Appellant was staying at his home and that a meth lab might be at his home. Finally, there was other circumstantial evidence introduced during trial including pictures of all the evidence seized by the West Virginia State Police, testimony by the troopers involved in the search of Mr. Jones's residence, and the testimony from Lieutenant Goff, an expert regarding the chemistry related to methamphetamine, who testified that in his expert opinion a methamphetamine was manufactured at Mr. Jones's home. Consequently, the Appellee maintains that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to sustain the Appellant's conviction. The Court applies a de novo standard of review to the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal based upon the sufficiency of the evidence. LaRock, 196 W.Va. at 304, 470 S.E.2d at 623. As this Court has further explained: The function of an appellate court when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, is sufficient to convince a reasonable person of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the relevant inquiry is whether, after reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Syl. Pt. 1, State v. Guthrie, 194 W.Va. 657, 461 S.E.2d 163 (1995). Moreover, [a] criminal defendant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction takes on a heavy burden. An appellate court must review all the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, in the light most favorable to the prosecution and must credit all inferences and credibility assessments that the jury might have drawn in favor of the prosecution. The evidence need not be inconsistent with every conclusion save that of guilt so long as the jury can find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Credibility determinations are for a jury and not an appellate court. Finally, a jury verdict should be set aside only when the record contains no evidence, regardless of how it is weighed, from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Syl. Pt 3, in part, Guthrie, 194 W.Va. at 663, 461 S.E.2d at 169. Utilizing the foregoing standards, we now examine whether there was sufficient evidence to support the Appellant's conviction, keeping in mind that all the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution. Id. As previously mentioned, in order to convict the Appellant of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, the Appellee had the burden of proving that the Appellant agreed with others to commit the crime of manufacturing methamphetamine, and that some overt act was taken by a member of the conspiracy to effect the object of the conspiracy, which was the manufacture of methamphetamine. See Burd, 187 W.Va. at 416, 419 S.E.2d at 677, Syl. Pt. 3. The Appellee offered evidence that both the Appellant and Mr. Jones purchased precursors or items that are used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Additionally, Mr. Jones testified that the Appellant was staying at Mr. Jones's home, that Mr. Jones had smelled something funny in his home while the Appellant was staying there, and that a meth lab might be at his home. There was other circumstantial evidence introduced during the Appellant's trial including pictures of all the evidence seized by the West Virginia State Police, testimony by the troopers involved in the search of Mr. Jones's residence, and the testimony from Lieutenant Goff that in his expert opinion methamphetamine was manufactured at Mr. Jones's home. There was also a stipulation that at least one of the samples obtained during the search of Mr. Jones's home was methamphetamine. Even though Mr. Jones testified at trial that he was not involved in the conspiracy, he also testified that he had pleaded guilty to the conspiracy. Consequently, given that a jury verdict should be set aside only when the record contains no evidence, regardless of how it is weighed, from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt[,] there is overwhelming evidence to sustain the jury's verdict convicting the Appellant of conspiracy. Syl. Pt 3, in part, Guthrie, 194 W.Va. at 663, 461 S.E.2d at 169. Thus, the circuit court did not err in denying the Appellant's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal.