MATTHEW A. TOWNSEND, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Court affirmed conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia where cocaine and a container with cocaine-residue field test were found in close proximity, sufficient to infer the container was used or intended for packaging cocaine.
The presence of cocaine in close proximity to a container with cocaine-residue field-testing positive is sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia.
[1] Possession of drug paraphernalia may be inferred from the proximity of a controlled substance to a container bearing residue of that substance that field-tests positive,…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the presence of a tenth of a gram of cocaine in close proximity to a container containing a white residue, which field-tested positive for cocaine, is sufficient to sustain the inference that the container was used or intended to be used to package cocaine”
Court's reasoning for affirming the conviction based on circumstantial evidence of proximity and field-test results
Police found a white rock and small plastic container with white residue in Townsend's pocket; the rock field-tested and laboratory-tested positive fo…
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THOMPSON, C.J.
Matthew Townsend appeals his conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia. We affirm. Townsend was convicted of possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, and appeals the latter conviction, contending that there was insufficient evidence to prove the offense. Police found in Townsend’s pocket a white rock and a small plastic container in which there was a white residue. An officer who performed a chemical reagent test testified that the rock and the container field-tested positive for the presence of cocaine. A chemist testified that the rock tested positive in the laboratory for cocaine, but that he had not tested the container. Although the mere field test alone of residue might not be enough to sustain a conviction for possession of cocaine or possession of drug paraphernalia, the presence of a tenth of a gram of cocaine in close proximity to a container containing a white residue, which field-tested positive for cocaine, is sufficient to sustain the inference that the container was used or intended to be used to package cocaine. Cf. § 893.145(10), Fla. Stat. (1999) (term “drug paraphernalia” includes “containers used, intended for use, or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances”); § 893.146, Fla.Stat. (1999) (in addition to all other logically relevant factors, fact-finder shall consider proximity of object to controlled substance and existence of any residue of controlled substance on object); Lupper v. State, 663 So. 2d 1337 (4th DCA 1994); Jones v. State, 589 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991).
AFFIRMED.
COBB and PLEUS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Gilchrist v. State, 784 So. 2d 624 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…found in defendant’s jacket pocket); Evans v. State, 543 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (minuscule amounts of cocaine found in smoking pipe in defendant’s possession); see also Lupper v. State, 663 So. 2d 1337 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Townsend v. State, 781 So. 2d 541, (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); State v. Mayabb, 43 S.W. 3d 429 (2001)(visible trace of methamphetamine on ink barrel found in defendant’s pocket and unweighable residue found on items in defendant’s house); State v. Carter, 773 So. 2d 268 (La.App. 4 Cir.2000…
Authorities Cited
- Avery Jones v. State, 589 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
- Lupper v. State, 663 So. 2d 1337 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)