Court Opinion

ID: 9897729
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-14 19:24:20.955786+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:01.747377
License: Public Domain

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA

              Present: Judges AtLee, Causey and Callins
UNPUBLISHED

              Argued at Norfolk, Virginia

              JEROME LEE WILKERSON
                                                                          MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY
              v.     Record No. 1385-22-1                                JUDGE DOMINIQUE A. CALLINS
                                                                              OCTOBER 17, 2023
              COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

                                 FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF NORFOLK
                                             Everett A. Martin, Jr., Judge

                              Emily M. Munn (Emily M. Munn PC, on brief), for appellant.

                              David A. Mick, Assistant Attorney General (Jason S. Miyares,
                              Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.

                     Jerome Lee Wilkerson appeals his conviction of possession of a Schedule I or II controlled

              substance in violation of Code § 18.2-250. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to

              support his constructive possession of cocaine found in the property bag of a cell block bunk

              accessible to the general jail population. For the following reasons, we reverse the conviction.

                                                      BACKGROUND1

                     Block 2k, a cell block of the Norfolk City Jail, consisted of ten to twelve secure “huts,”

              each hut containing four “triple” bunk beds. Absent a lockdown, the doors to each hut

              “primarily” remained open and accessible to all inmates housed in the cell block. At full

              capacity, Block 2k held 144 inmates.

                     *
                         This opinion is not designated for publication. See Code § 17.1-413(A).
                     1
                       “We review the evidence ‘in the “light most favorable” to the Commonwealth, the
              prevailing party in the trial court.’” Lewis v. Commonwealth, 76 Va. App. 92, 97 n.1 (2022)
              (quoting Hammer v. Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 225, 231 (2022)).
       On February 20, 2020, Sergeant Steve Hoggard received a tip that there was cocaine in

Block 2k. The sergeant’s team cleared the entire cell block by moving the 30-40 resident

inmates to “a little area to keep them safe and secure.” Then, using a “narcotics detection K-9”

dog, Sergeant Hoggard and his team searched the cell block. The dog alerted on the “property

bag” located on Wilkerson’s bunk. A search of the bag revealed a medical form bearing

Wilkerson’s name and two toilet paper rolls, one of which concealed a plastic bag containing

1.03 grams of cocaine.

       When Sergeant Hoggard questioned him, Wilkerson admitted ownership of the property

bag. However, Wilkerson denied any knowledge of the cocaine. Sergeant Hoggard then asked

whether other inmates “[went] into his bag.” Wilkerson replied, “F[***] no. Ain’t no one goes

into . . . my bag. I watch my bag. They know better. I check my bag every 15 minutes.”2

       At trial, Sergeant Hoggard testified that Wilkerson had been observed sleeping and

“relaxing” on his bunk at some time “before,” but did not specify who made the observation or

when, nor did the sergeant testify to the proximity in time of the observation to the search. And

although he testified that he had reviewed surveillance footage of Block 2k, Sergeant Hoggard

did not testify as to whether Wilkerson had been in his hut immediately before the search. Nor

did Sergeant Hoggard testify as to whether Wilkerson had left his hut, and if so, how much time

had passed between Wilkerson’s departure from his hut and the search.3 Sergeant Hoggard did

testify that jail policy required Wilkerson to leave his property bag in the cell block upon his

departure. He also acknowledged that certain activities required an inmate’s absence from the

       2
        Sergeant Hoggard did not ask any follow-up questions of Wilkerson regarding the
manner in which Wilkerson checks his bag.
       3
          Sergeant Hoggard stated that the jail kept logs of when inmates entered and left their
cells, but he did not bring them to court. He also testified that he reviewed videos of Wilkerson’s
cell block to ascertain whether anyone “went near that area,” but following an evidentiary
objection, he did not testify further in that regard.
                                                  -2-
cell block for more than 15 minutes, such as medical appointments, attorney meetings, and court

dates. Sergeant Hoggard agreed that, under those circumstances, Wilkerson could not monitor

his property bag every 15 minutes.

       At the conclusion of the Commonwealth’s case-in-chief, Wilkerson moved to strike the

evidence. He argued that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he had knowledge and

control of the cocaine in his bag because other inmates had access to his bag, and under certain

circumstances, such access exceeded 15 minutes. The trial court rejected Wilkerson’s argument

that other inmates had access to his property bag, noting that, “but for the statement to Sergeant

Hoggard, you might have something.” The court found that Wilkerson constructively possessed

the cocaine in his property bag and convicted him. Wilkerson appeals.

                                           ANALYSIS

                                      A. Standard of Review

       “[T]he Commonwealth bears the burden to prove each element of the crime beyond a

reasonable doubt.” Goldman v. Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 556, 562 (2022). In sufficiency

challenges involving drug possession, this Court has framed its role as follows:

               When considering the sufficiency of the evidence presented below,
               “a reviewing court does not ‘ask itself whether it believes that the
               evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’”
               We must instead ask whether “any rational trier of fact could have
               found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable
               doubt.” This familiar standard gives full play to the responsibility
               of the trier of fact fairly to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to
               weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic
               facts to ultimate facts.

Yerling v. Commonwealth, 71 Va. App. 527, 532 (2020) (citations omitted). We defer “to the

trial court’s findings of fact unless they are plainly wrong or without evidence to support them.”

Goldman, 74 Va. App. at 562.

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  B. The evidence is insufficient to prove Wilkerson’s possession beyond a reasonable doubt.

       Wilkerson was convicted under Code § 18.2-250, which proscribes the “knowing[] or

intentional[] . . . possess[ion] [of] a controlled substance unless the substance was obtained

directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or order of a [qualifying] practitioner[.]” To

prove possession of a controlled substance in violation of the Code, “the Commonwealth must

prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was aware of the presence and character of the

drug and that the accused consciously possessed it.” Yerling, 71 Va. App. at 532 (emphasis

added) (citing Jones v. Commonwealth, 17 Va. App. 572, 574 (1994)).

       Possession may be actual or constructive. Id. “Constructive possession may be

established by ‘evidence of acts, statements, or conduct by the defendant or other facts and

circumstances[.]’” Lewis v. Commonwealth, 76 Va. App. 92, 102 (2022) (quoting Smallwood v.

Commonwealth, 278 Va. 625, 630 (2009)). Such evidence must “prov[e] that the defendant was

aware of the presence and character of the [contraband] and that the [contraband] was subject to

his dominion and control.” Id. (second and third alterations in original) (quoting Smallwood, 278

Va. at 630); see also Burchette v. Commonwealth, 15 Va. App. 432, 435 (1992) (specifying that

a defendant must “have known of the presence, nature, and character of the contraband at the

time of . . . ownership”). Because Wilkerson’s possession was constructive, “all necessary

circumstances proved must be consistent with guilt and inconsistent with innocence and exclude

every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.” Pemberton v. Commonwealth, 17 Va. App. 651, 655

(1994) (quoting Garland v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 182, 184 (1983)).

       Wilkerson argues that “the Commonwealth failed to show [his] exclusive possession of the

bag on the date of the search” as no evidence placed him with or near the bag, or otherwise

demonstrated his “recent possession” of the bag “at any time prior to the K-9 search.” We agree

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that the evidence falls short of proving Wilkerson’s knowing possession of the cocaine found in his

property bag.

       The Commonwealth points to Wilkerson’s undisputed claim of ownership of the property

bag as probative evidence of constructive possession—that is, of Wilkerson’s awareness of the

nature and character of the cocaine, and dominion and control of the same. But we have long

held that mere ownership or occupancy of the property in which a controlled substance is found

is insufficient to prove knowing possession of the substance. See Young v. Commonwealth, 275

Va. 587, 592 (2008) (holding that “bare” possession is not enough); Lewis, 76 Va. App. at 102

(“[O]wnership . . . alone is insufficient to prove knowing possession of [contraband][.]” (second

alteration in original) (quoting Burchette, 15 Va. App. at 435)). Nor does proximity alone satisfy

proof of constructive possession. See Yerling, 71 Va. App. at 532.

       The Commonwealth also singles out Wilkerson’s statement that “F[***] no. Ain’t no

one goes into . . . my bag. I watch my bag. They know better. I check my bag every 15

minutes,” as particularly weighty on the proof elements. In fact, the trial court appears to have

relied primarily on the statement in finding Wilkerson guilty, declaring that Wilkerson’s

statement “makes the case.” However, we find the trial court’s reliance on this statement to

prove constructive possession problematic.

       Wilkerson’s statements, “Ain’t no one goes into . . . my bag,” “I watch my bag,” and “I

check my bag every 15 minutes,” fall short of a confession.4 That is, Wilkerson’s attenuated

statements that “I watch my bag” and “I check my bag every 15 minutes,” coupled with the more

       4
          Wilkerson’s statements were admissions to the extent that they constituted an
“acknowledgment of a fact or facts tending to prove guilt but falling short of an admission to all
essential elements of the crime.” Caminade v. Commonwealth, 230 Va. 505, 510 (1986)
(quoting E. Cleary, McCormick’s Handbook of the Law of Evidence § 144, at 362 (3d ed. 1984)).
                                              -5-
speculative “Ain’t no one goes into . . . my bag,” without more, were insufficient to prove

Wilkerson’s knowing possession of the substance.

       The Commonwealth’s own witness established that Wilkerson could neither watch nor

check his bag every 15 minutes. Sergeant Hoggard confirmed that when attending medical

appointments, attorney meetings, or court dates, Wilkerson would have left the cell block, and

his bag, for a period of more than 15 minutes. The Commonwealth introduced no evidence to

establish that Wilkerson was in the cell block, and not attending a medical appointment, attorney

meeting, or court date prior to the search.

       Further, the admission that Wilkerson checked his bag every 15 minutes showed the

evident concern, borne out by Sergeant Hoggard’s testimony, for the ease with which fellow

inmates could readily access it. And although the Commonwealth need not prove the

impossibility “that someone else may have planted, discarded, abandoned or placed the drugs,”

Brown v. Commonwealth, 15 Va. App. 1, 10 (1992) (en banc), it must prove beyond a reasonable

doubt that Wilkerson did knowingly possess the contraband.

       Proving constructive possession by an inmate imposes a unique challenge. The

Commonwealth bears the burden of linking an accused to a controlled substance in, effectively, a

public place. Indeed, Sergeant Hoggard testified that Wilkerson’s hut, which he shared with

three other inmates, was primarily open and accessible. Moreover, the hut was nestled within a

cell block which, at the time, housed approximately 30 to 40 inmates, all of whom could pass

freely through the cell block, and the huts within it.

       Here, the Commonwealth failed to furnish a link connecting Wilkerson to the controlled

substance. Notwithstanding Wilkerson’s admission that he checked his bag every 15 minutes,

there is no evidence that he did so, or that Wilkerson was with his bag immediately preceding the

lockdown. Nor did the Commonwealth establish that Wilkerson was in his cell block

                                                 -6-
immediately prior to the search. Instead, Sergeant Hoggard testified that Wilkerson “had been

observed sleeping and relaxing before,” but did not state the context for this observation or

otherwise indicate how long “before” the search Wilkerson had been so observed.

       Accordingly, the trial court’s reliance on Wilkerson’s statement to support the conviction

was misplaced, as the statement, without more, was insufficient to prove Wilkerson’s knowing

possession of the controlled substance. See Yerling, 71 Va. App. at 532.

       Yet, even assuming, arguendo, that the Commonwealth established Wilkerson’s

dominion and control over the property bag in which the cocaine was found, it still failed to

show Wilkerson’s conscious knowledge of the presence, nature, and character of the drugs. See

Burchette, 15 Va. App. at 435. Sergeant Hoggard testified to Wilkerson’s presence in his hut

“before,” with no indication of when “before” was. Notably, although it was available, the

Commonwealth did not introduce surveillance video evidence of Wilkerson on his bunk or in his

hut prior to the search. Consequently, Sergeant Hoggard’s testimony that Wilkerson was in his

hut “before” supplies no useable inferences to support the finding that Wilkerson had conscious

knowledge of the presence, nature, and character of the drugs. Cf. Burchette, 15 Va. App. at 435

(“[P]roof that a person is in close proximity to contraband is a relevant fact that, depending on

the circumstances, may tend to show that, as an owner or occupant of property . . . , the person

necessarily knows of the presence, nature and character of a substance . . . found there.”).

Wilkerson also denied knowledge of the cocaine. Yet, even if Wilkerson used his denial as a

smokescreen to conceal guilt, his denial would not be sufficient to show that he had conscious

knowledge of the presence, nature, and character of the drugs, as there exists no other competent

evidence tending to show that Wilkerson consciously knew of the presence, nature, and character

of the drugs. See Cordon v. Commonwealth, 280 Va. 691, 696 (2010) (holding that appellant’s

                                                -7-
denial, “assuming . . . [it] gave rise to an inference that he was lying to conceal guilt,” could not,

when combined with the other evidence in the record, make up for that evidence’s paucity).

         Further, Wilkerson’s admission of occupancy and ownership could not, by itself, admit

knowledge of the presence, nature, and the character of the drugs. Cordon, 280 Va. at 696, and

Young, 275 Va. at 591-93, are instructive. In Cordon, our Supreme Court reversed the

appellant’s conviction for possession of cocaine, even though the cocaine was found in a cooler

in a bedroom that the appellant occasionally occupied and characterized as “his.” 280 Va. at

696. Within the bedroom was also found paperwork in the appellant’s name, and a business card

provided to the appellant two days before the search. Id. at 693, 696. The Supreme Court held

that this evidence was sufficient only to support a “suspicion of guilt,” and fell short of proving

that the appellant constructively possessed the cocaine. Id. at 696. In Young, a pill bottle

carrying a label bearing someone else’s name was found in that appellant’s purse following a

traffic stop. The label on the bottle identified its contents as “OxyContin,” but the pills within

were different sizes and colors. 275 Va. at 589. The Supreme Court reversed. Holding that

“possession alone, without more, is insufficient to support an inference of guilty knowledge,” it

found that the appellant’s mere possession of the contraband was not enough to prove possession

of a controlled substance under Code § 18.2-250. Id. at 592.

         Here, Wilkerson’s admission of occupancy and ownership of a jail bunk and property bag

accessible to the general jail population, without more, was insufficient to show conscious

knowledge of the presence, nature, and character of the cocaine.

         Thus, the evidence was insufficient to prove Wilkerson’s guilt beyond a reasonable

doubt.

                                                 -8-
                                  CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the conviction is reversed, and the indictment is dismissed.

                                                                Reversed and final judgment.

                                         -9-