Court Opinion

ID: 9701601
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 22:27:08.155922+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:25.745052
License: Public Domain

WATKINS, Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent and would affirm the judgments of sentence. Since the Commonwealth prevailed in the court below all of the evidence must be read in the light most favorable to it and it is entitled to all reasonable inferences arising therefrom. Commonwealth v. Chenet, 473 Pa. 181, 373 A.2d 1107 (1977). Furthermore, when several individuals have equal access to the area where drugs are found, the Commonwealth may obtain a conviction if it can prove joint con*101structive possession of the contraband. To establish joint constructive possession the Commonwealth must show that the appellant had knowledge of the presence of the drugs and the intent to exercise control over them and these elements may be inferred from the totality of the surrounding circumstances. See Commonwealth v. Griffin, 230 Pa.Superior Ct. 425, 326 A.2d 554 (1974).
In the instant case the residence where the drugs were found was owned by the defendants. They entered their home by the use of their key. The telephone number for their address was listed under the same name of defendant, Carl Macolino. Mail found in the home was addressed to the defendants. Bills addressed to the defendants, bank books and checkbooks in their names, and, photographs of them were also found in the home. The cocaine was found in the clothes closet of the master bedroom which contained both male and female clothing. Considering the above circumstances in their totality, I would find that there was sufficient evidence produced by the Commonwealth to establish joint constructive possession of the home.
The cases cited by the Majority in support of its decision are readily distinguishable from the present case. In Commonwealth v. Fortune, 456 Pa. 365, 368, 318 A.2d 327, 328 (1974), relied upon by the Majority, the drugs were found on the floor in the doorway between the kitchen and rear shed. Three men and one woman had been seated in the living room of the premises at the time the police arrived and it was impossible to determine who placed the drugs in the position where they were found. In Commonwealth v. Davis, 444 Pa. 11, 280 A.2d 119 (1971), the contraband was found in a locked cupboard and the key was in the possession of the defendant’s mistress. In Commonwealth v. Reece, 437 Pa. 422, 263 A.2d 463 (1970), there were several people present at the “pot party” when the search was conducted. In Commonwealth v. Chenet, supra, several persons had access to the area where the contraband was found. In short, all of the cases cited by the Majority are distinguishable from the instant case because in those cases various *102people had equal access to the area where the contraband was found as opposed to the instant case which involved a master bedroom in a home owned exclusively by the defendants. In the absence of any testimony indicating that other persons had access to the defendants’ bedroom, I would find that the elements of joint constructive possession have been established by the Commonwealth and would affirm the judgments of sentence.