The defendant in this case is appealing his conviction for multiple drug charges.
Case Background
A New York Criminal Lawyer said the charges that were made against the defendant come from a drug purchase made by an undercover police officer. The purchase took place inside of a house. The defendant along with another man arrived at the house in the car owned by the defendant. The car was left outside of the home before the arrests occurred.
After the drug purchase was made and the defendant and the others were all arrested the car was searched. There were two marijuana roaches found in the ashtray of the vehicle (marijuana possession). There was also a small amount of marijuana found in an atlas on the floorboard. Evidence showed that the car was registered to and owned by the defendant. The defendant testified that he knew nothing about the marijuana in the vehicle.
The defendant argues on appeal that the charge for possession of marijuana should have been dismissed because there was not sufficient evidence to show that the defendant had possession of the contraband.
Court Discussion
In order for constructive possession to be considered it must be noted that possession is not exclusive to actually holding the substance and can simply mean that the person had prior knowledge that there were illegal substances located in the area such as the home or in this case the car.
A Long Island Criminal Lawyer said the evidence in this case shows that the defendant was the owner and the driver of the vehicle where the marijuana was found. While he was not in control or exclusive possession of the vehicle at the time the marijuana was found, this does not mean that he was not aware the marijuana was in the vehicle and possession cannot be ruled out.
Court Decision
For these reasons the court finds that the defendant is guilty of all of the charges made against him and the previous judgment is confirmed.
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