WILLIE J. COLLIER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the circumstantial evidence was insufficient to prove possession of cocaine beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant was found near a package containing cocaine in a drug trafficking area. The package was admitted into evidence, but there was no direct or c…
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[*972] LEHAN, Judge.
Defendant, convicted of possession of cocaine, appeals from the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and for a new trial. We reverse.
Defendant was seen by police officers sitting on a concrete wall in what was described as a drug trafficking area. Near defendant on the ground was a package. The package was later found to contain cocaine. The officer approached defendant and placed him under arrest. The package was admitted into evidence at defendant’s trial.
There was no evidence that defendant had ever possessed the package or that it was in his constructive possession in any way. See Hons v. State, 467 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); D.K.W. v. State, 398 So. 2d 885 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). No effort was made to obtain fingerprints from the package. There was no evidence that defendant fled or attempted to flee.
The only evidence, which was circumstantial, was not inconsistent with a reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Taylor v. State, 319 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975).
The conviction is reversed. Defendant shall be discharged.
SCHEB, A.C.J., and CAMPBELL, J., concur.
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Edwards v. State, 532 So. 2d 1311 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…icinity of several other people does not warrant a finding that the police officer had probable cause to believe that the person or persons closest to the contraband possessed it. Agee v. State, 522 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988);3 Collier v. State, 509 So. 2d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).4 In Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 (1968), the Court found the inference that persons who talk to narcotics addicts are engaged in criminal traffic in narcotics is not the sort of “reasonable infer…
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R.L. v. State, 557 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…ndent placed the bags of marijuana back in the garbage. This act, plus the “sure shot” marking shows, in our view, that the respondent had guilty knowledge that the bag contained contraband drugs, an essential element of the crime. Collier v. State, 509 So. 2d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Kresbach v. State, 462 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). Affirmed.…
Authorities Cited
- Cent. & S. Fla. Flood Control Dist. v. Deadwyler, 319 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975)
- Odessa D. Taylor v. State, 319 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975)
- D.K.W. v. State, 398 So. 2d 885 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- Hons v. State, 467 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)