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State v. Jackson4/12/2005
th other relevant facts surrounding the arrest, that the controlled substance or substances were possessed with the purpose of selling or otherwise dispensing." Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-419; see also State v. Samuel L. Giddens, No. M2002-00163-CCA-R3-CD, 2004 WL 2636715, at * 4 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Nov. 15, 2004), no perm. app. filed. We conclude that this evidence is sufficient for the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant possessed the cocaine with the intent to sell it.
Finally, we must determine whether the State showed beyond a reasonable doubt that the substance containing cocaine possessed by the Defendant equaled or exceeded twenty-six grams. Lieutenant Jones and Officer Johnson both testified that they recovered between fifty and sixty grams of cocaine from the Defendant's car. Flowers testified that she analyzed the substance in this case and concluded that it was cocaine and it weighed 59.2 grams. The evidence clearly shows that the amount of cocaine possessed by the Defendant exceeded twenty-six grams.
We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to prove that the Defendant possessed more than twenty-six grams of a substance containing cocaine within 1000 feet of a Drug-Free School Zone. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.
2. Possession of a Firearm with the Intent to Employ it in the Commission of or Escape from an Offense
A person commits the crime of possession of a firearm in the commission of or escape from an offense when the person "possesses any deadly weapon with intent to employ it in the commission of or escape from an offense." Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(c)(1) (2003). Therefore, in order for the State to convict the Defendant of this crime, it had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant possessed a deadly weapon, and the Defendant possessed the deadly weapon with the intent to employ it in the commission of or escape from an offense. Additionally, this Court has stated that " ossession may be actual or constructive." State v. Steven D. Pittman, No. M1999-00320- CCA-R3-CD, 2000 WL 374755, at *3 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Apr. 7, 2000), perm. app. dismissed (Tenn. July 31, 2000). Constructive possession is essentially the ability to reduce an object to actual possession. Id.
In State v. Brentol Calvin James, No. M1999-02533-CCA-R3-CD, 2000 WL 1763686 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Nov. 30, 2000), no perm. app. filed, this Court examined what is required to sustain a conviction of possession of a weapon during the commission of an offense. James, 2000 WL 1763686, at *3-4. This Court found that, for a conviction, "the State additionally had to prove that the appellant possessed the weapon with the intent to employ it in the commission of, or escape from, an offense." Id. at *4. This Court determined that the only evidence of the appellant's "intent to employ" was an officer's testimony that the appellant's co-defendant was leaning into the appellant's car when police approached. Id. This Court concluded that "the State failed to prove that the appellant possessed the pistol with the intent to employ it during the commission of or escape from an offense." Id.
Similarly, in the case under submission, the State proved that the Defendant constructively possessed the deadly weapon. The Defendant possessed the key to the car in which the handgun was located, and the Defendant could have obtained actual possession of the handgun at any time. In order to convict the Defendant, the State additionally had to prove that the Defendant possessed the weapon with the intent to employ it in the commission of, or escape from, an offense. Based on this record, there was no evid
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