THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. GASPAR FRANCIS, APPELLANT.
79 N.Y.2d 925, 591 N.E.2d 1168, 582 N.Y.S.2d 982 (1992).
March 26, 1992
1 No. 45
Decided March 26, 1992
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This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before
publication in the New York Reports.
Frank Loss, for Appellant.
Alexei Schacht, for Respondent.
MEMORANDUM:
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and the
indictment dismissed.
Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of criminal possession of
a controlled substance in the fourth degree (Penal Law § 220.09 (1)).
The People argued at trial that the defendant constructively possessed
one hundred vials of crack cocaine that were found on the floor of a
red Camaro. On appeal, the defendant argued that there was
insufficient evidence that he exercised dominion and control over the
area in which the drugs had been found (People v Sierra, 45 NY2d 56,
60; cf., People v Torres, 68 NY2d 677). The Appellate Division
affirmed the conviction, with two Justices dissenting. We conclude
that the evidence of constructive possession was legally insufficient
and consequently reverse.
On the day of the arrest, defendant attended an afternoon meeting with
his parole officer in downtown Manhattan. As he left the meeting, he
was followed by several other parole officers. He entered the parking
lot adjoining the building and walked up to the passenger side of a
red Camaro, in which a woman was seated. At this time, two parole
officers detained the defendant and searched the trunk of the car. One
of the officers opened the door on the driver's side and found a
package containing one hundred vials of crack, wrapped in clear
plastic, on the floor of the car.
The evidence connecting the defendant to the cocaine was entirely
circumstantial and as a result, the proof at trial was required to be
inconsistent with the defendant's innocence and to exclude to a moral
certainty every other reasonable hypothesis (People v Guiliano, 65
SNIPPETS:
THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. GASPAR FRANCIS, APPELLANT.
This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and the indictment dismissed.
Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of criminal possession of a controlled substance
The People argued at trial that the defendant constructively possessed one hundred vials of
On appeal, the defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence that he exercised
The Appellate Division affirmed the conviction,
We conclude that the evidence of constructive possession was legally insufficient and
On the day of the arrest, defendant attended an afternoon meeting with his parole officer in
He entered the parking lot adjoining the building and walked up to the passenger side of a
One of the officers opened the door on the driver's side and found a package containing one
Even after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (People v
Although the defendant's parole officer testified she had seen the defendant drive the red
Although he did have the car's registration and insurance card, this is consistent with his
Although the defendant walked directly to the passenger side of the car, we cannot infer from
Chief Judge Wachtler and Judges Simons, Kaye, Titone, Hancock and Bellacosa concur.
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