Wayne Scott Cahoon v. Commonwealth of Virginia ( 2016 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Petty, Alston and Russell
UNPUBLISHED
Argued at Richmond, Virginia
WAYNE SCOTT CAHOON
MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY
v. Record No. 0781-15-2 JUDGE WESLEY G. RUSSELL, JR.
MARCH 29, 2016
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY
Joseph J. Ellis, Judge
Jenna C. Nacht, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.
John W. Blanton, Assistant Attorney General (Mark R. Herring,
Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
Wayne Scott Cahoon, appellant, was convicted in a bench trial of possessing a Schedule I or
II controlled substance with the intent to distribute in violation of Code § 18.2-248, and conspiring
to distribute a Schedule I or II controlled substance in violation of Code §§ 18.2-248 and 18.2-256.
On appeal, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for each conviction. Finding that
the evidence was sufficient to allow a reasonable factfinder to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt
that appellant committed both offenses, we affirm the convictions.
BACKGROUND
“Under well-settled principles of appellate review, we consider the evidence presented at
trial in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the prevailing party below.” Smallwood
v. Commonwealth, 278 Va. 625, 629, 688 S.E.2d 154, 156 (2009) (quoting Bolden v.
Commonwealth, 275 Va. 144, 148, 654 S.E.2d 584, 586 (2008)). This principle requires us to
*
Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not designated for publication.
“discard the evidence of the accused in conflict with that of the Commonwealth, and regard as
true all the credible evidence favorable to the Commonwealth and all fair inferences to be drawn
therefrom.” Parks v. Commonwealth, 221 Va. 492, 498, 270 S.E.2d 755, 759 (1980) (emphasis
and internal quotation marks omitted).
So viewed, the evidence established that, on November 23, 2013, Spotsylvania County
Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Friedman observed a driver and passenger in a vehicle that was familiar to
Deputy Friedman. He followed the vehicle after concluding that neither individual inside the
vehicle was its owner, a local resident. Additionally, Deputy Friedman found it unusual that both
the driver and the passenger continually were looking at him using the car’s side and rearview
mirrors. He followed the vehicle southbound on Route 1 until the vehicle entered the turn lane to
access the ramp for Interstate 95 South. Deputy Friedman did not follow the vehicle onto the
interstate. He passed it as he continued southbound on Route 1.
Still suspicious of what he had observed, Deputy Friedman stayed in the general vicinity of
where he first observed the vehicle to see if it returned. In short order, the vehicle returned to the
area and Deputy Friedman resumed following it. He followed the vehicle into a gas station parking
lot. After appellant parked the vehicle and both occupants had exited, Deputy Friedman approached
them, identified himself, and asked if he could speak with them.
Appellant, a Spotsylvania resident, was the driver of the vehicle and his brother, Roy, had
been in the passenger seat. Upon request, appellant provided Deputy Friedman with a Virginia
identification card and Friedman was able to determine that appellant was not licensed to drive in
Virginia. Roy, a Massachusetts resident, provided an identification card issued by Massachusetts
and had no driver’s license.
Both appellant and Roy consented to the deputy’s search of both their persons and the car.
Deputy Friedman recovered from appellant’s wallet a folded sheet of paper upon which was written:
-2-
“60 oxy 80s street value 4800.00” and “180 oxy 30$ street value 5400.” His search of Roy revealed
a prescription pill bottle, in Roy’s name, containing Oxycodone. From inside the vehicle, Deputy
Friedman recovered, among other things, a bottle of morphine pills prescribed in appellant’s
name, a notebook entitled “Roy’s doc book and dates,” and multiple prescriptions in Roy’s name
that all had been written that day by a doctor whose office is in Arlington.
Deputy Friedman placed both appellant and Roy under arrest and read them their rights
pursuant to Miranda. Deputy Friedman noted that Roy’s Oxycodone prescription had been filled
approximately two hours earlier in Fairfax and that fifty pills were missing. When questioned
about the missing pills, Roy responded that he had consumed them. The prescription for
morphine in appellant’s name had been filled on November 19, 2013, mere days prior to the
encounter. Of the pills prescribed, fifty pills were missing from that container. Appellant
initially stated that the missing pills were in a pocket of a jacket at his home, but changed his
story and ultimately stated that he had consumed all of the missing morphine.1
Deputy Friedman testified that neither appellant nor Roy appeared to be under the
influence of any drugs during this encounter. Both individuals denied selling any drugs, and
Deputy Friedman did not find amounts of money that one might associate with illicit drug sales.
At trial, the court accepted Detective Ray Haney as an expert regarding the illegal
prescription drug market in Spotsylvania County. Detective Haney reviewed the piece of paper
taken from appellant’s wallet and opined that “60” would refer to the quantity of pills and “80”
to the milligrams contained in each pill. According to Detective Haney, the note indicated that
selling sixty of those pills would yield $4,800 on the street. Likewise, selling 180 of the thirty
milligram pills would yield $5,400. He explained that this is consistent with the street value of
Oxycodone in Spotsylvania, which is approximately $1 per milligram. He also testified that the
1
Dosage instructions on the bottle stated, “Take 1 tablet by mouth 2 times a day.”
-3-
sheet of paper, combined with notes in the notebook Deputy Friedman had found and the number
of pills missing from both prescription bottles, indicated to him that the notebook was used to
keep track of drug sales.
Detective Haney, who had been called to the scene of the arrest, testified that he did not
observe appellant or Roy acting as if either had recently consumed significant doses of the
medications in question. He stated that, based on the dates of the prescriptions, the number of
pills missing from each bottle, and the note found in appellant’s wallet, it was his opinion that
the evidence was inconsistent with personal use of the medications in question.
The trial court found appellant guilty of possession with intent to distribute a controlled
substance and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
This appeal followed.
ANALYSIS
Possession of a Controlled Substance with the Intent to Distribute
Appellant acknowledges that he possessed the morphine, which is a Schedule II
controlled substance. He argues that the evidence was insufficient to allow the factfinder to
conclude that he possessed the drug with the intent to distribute. We disagree.
“Intent is a state of mind that may be proved by an accused’s acts or by his statements
and that may be shown by circumstantial evidence.” Wilson v. Commonwealth, 249 Va. 95,
101, 452 S.E.2d 669, 673-74 (1995) (quoting Wright v. Commonwealth, 245 Va. 177, 193, 427
S.E.2d 379, 390 (1993)). “Circumstantial evidence, if sufficiently convincing, is as competent
and entitled to the same weight as direct testimony.” McCain v. Commonwealth, 261 Va. 483,
493, 545 S.E.2d 541, 547 (2001).
This Court and the Supreme Court of Virginia have recognized several factors that are
probative circumstantial evidence of intent to distribute a controlled substance. Williams v.
-4-
Commonwealth, 52 Va. App. 194, 202, 662 S.E.2d 627, 631 (2008). Expert testimony, usually that
of a police officer familiar with the local market in the controlled substance, is routinely offered to
prove whether the drugs seized are more consistent with personal use or likely intended for
distribution. Askew v. Commonwealth, 40 Va. App. 104, 109-10, 578 S.E.2d 58, 61 (2003).
“The quantum of evidence necessary to prove an intent to distribute depends on the facts
and circumstances of each case.” Id. at 110, 578 S.E.2d at 61. Moreover, even where no single
piece of evidence sufficiently supports a finding on its own, “the ‘combined force of many
concurrent and related circumstances, each insufficient in itself, may lead a reasonable mind
irresistibly to a conclusion.’” Derr v. Commonwealth, 242 Va. 413, 425, 410 S.E.2d 662, 669
(1991) (quoting Stamper v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 260, 273, 257 S.E.2d 808, 818 (1979)).
Ultimately, it is for the factfinder “to decide whether the defendant acted with criminal intent in
the commission of the crimes.” Griggs v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 46, 51, 255 S.E.2d 475, 478
(1979).
Here, based on the expert testimony and circumstantial evidence presented at trial, the
trier of fact reasonably could conclude that appellant possessed the morphine with the intent to
distribute it. Appellant had a prescription for morphine that was missing fifty pills in just a
period of days. The expert testimony established that such a consumption pattern was
inconsistent with personal use, and the evidence established that neither occupant of the vehicle
appeared to be under the influence of any substance, including the medications at issue. In
addition to drawing the conclusion that appellant had not consumed the pills, the factfinder was
entitled to conclude that appellant neither had abandoned nor misplaced the morphine. See Ward
v. Commonwealth, 47 Va. App. 733, 753 n.4, 627 S.E.2d 520, 530 n.4 (2006) (“Our cases
recognize that drugs are a commodity of significant value, unlikely to be abandoned or carelessly
left in an area.”), aff’d on other grounds, 273 Va. 211, 639 S.E.2d 269 (2007).
-5-
Finally, appellant’s inconsistent stories provided the factfinder with additional evidence
of his guilt. His two versions of what had happened to the missing morphine—that the pills were
in the pocket of a jacket versus that he had consumed them all—are in direct conflict; thus, at a
minimum, appellant told at least one lie regarding the disposition of the pills. Given all of the
evidence, the factfinder reasonably could conclude that both statements were false. “A
defendant’s false statements are probative to show he is trying to conceal his guilt, and thus [are]
evidence of his guilt.” Rollston v. Commonwealth, 11 Va. App. 535, 548, 399 S.E.2d 823, 831
(1991) (citations omitted). The trial court was entitled to take this into account when considering
whether appellant possessed the morphine with the intent to distribute it.
Coupled with the existence of the note in appellant’s wallet that can be interpreted only
as indicating familiarity with the illegal prescription drug trade,2 a rational factfinder easily could
conclude from the evidence in this case that appellant possessed the morphine with the intent to
distribute it.3
Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance
Appellant contends the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for conspiracy
to distribute a controlled substance. We disagree.
A conspiracy is “an agreement between two or more persons by some concerted action to
commit an offense.” Wright v. Commonwealth, 224 Va. 502, 505, 297 S.E.2d 711, 713 (1982)
2
Nothing in the record reveals an “innocent” explanation for the note, and we cannot
divine one. Appellant only argues that the note cannot support a conclusion that he intended to
distribute morphine because the note only referred to the “street value” of Oxycodone. Although
his recitation of the contents of the note is correct, it ignores that the note establishes at least
some involvement of appellant in the illegal trafficking of prescription drugs, and therefore,
makes his distribution of prescription drugs, including morphine, more likely.
3
Because we determine that appellant possessed the morphine with the intent to
distribute, we need not decide whether appellant possessed the Oxycodone with the intent to
distribute.
-6-
(quoting Falden v. Commonwealth, 167 Va. 542, 544, 189 S.E. 326, 327 (1937)). The crime is
“complete when the parties agree to commit an offense,” and “[n]o overt act in furtherance of the
underlying crime is necessary.” Gray v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 675, 680, 537 S.E.2d 862, 865
(2000).
The Commonwealth may, and frequently must, rely on circumstantial evidence to
establish the existence of a conspiracy. Stevens v. Commonwealth, 14 Va. App. 238, 241, 415
S.E.2d 881, 883 (1992). Although no overt act is necessary to establish a conspiracy, such an act
may support a finding of the existence of a conspiracy, Poole v. Commonwealth, 7 Va. App. 510,
513, 375 S.E.2d 371, 372 (1988) (quoting United States v. Harris, 433 F.2d 333, 335 (4th Cir.
1970)), and “a common purpose and plan may be inferred from a ‘development and collocation
of circumstances,’” Floyd v. Commonwealth, 219 Va. 575, 581, 249 S.E.2d 171, 175 (1978)
(quoting United States v. Godel, 361 F.2d 21, 23 (4th Cir. 1966)).
[W]hen “it has been shown that the defendants ‘by their acts
pursued the same object, one performing one part and the others
performing another part so as to complete it or with a view to its
attainment, the jury will be justified in concluding that they were
engaged in a conspiracy to effect that object.’”
Charity v. Commonwealth, 49 Va. App. 581, 586, 643 S.E.2d 503, 505 (2007) (quoting Brown v.
Commonwealth, 10 Va. App. 73, 78, 390 S.E.2d 386, 388 (1990)).
It is true that the Commonwealth presented no witness who observed or heard the
brothers expressly agree to traffic in prescription drugs. However, “[t]here is no distinction in
the law between the weight or value to be given to either direct or circumstantial evidence.”
Muhammad v. Commonwealth, 269 Va. 451, 479, 619 S.E.2d 16, 31-32 (2005), cert. denied, 547
U.S. 1136 (2006). “While no single piece of evidence may be sufficient, the combined force of
many concurrent and related circumstances, each insufficient in itself, may lead a reasonable
mind irresistibly to a conclusion.” Id. (citation omitted). Here, all of the attendant
-7-
circumstances, taken together, were sufficient to allow a factfinder reasonably to conclude that
appellant and his brother had an agreement to traffic in prescription drugs.
Roy, with appellant as his only observed source of transportation, had obtained a
prescription for Oxycodone in Arlington, filled it in Fairfax, and had distributed over fifty pills in
just two hours. Part of this limited time period was spent being followed by Deputy Friedman in
Spotsylvania, avoiding the deputy by going on the interstate, and then returning to the area they had
just left, which allowed the deputy to resume his surveillance. Throughout the period of
surveillance by the deputy, both brothers repeatedly made furtive glances into the vehicle’s mirrors,
suggesting that both knew that they had reason to fear being stopped by the deputy.
The evidence supports a conclusion that neither brother had consumed the pills during
the time since the prescription had been filled. The evidence was sufficient to allow the
factfinder to conclude that both brothers lied to the police about their activities, giving rise to an
inference supporting a finding of guilt. Appellant, despite possessing no prescription in his name
for Oxycodone, possessed a note describing the street value of the drug in Spotsylvania.4 As noted
above, appellant offers no innocent explanation for the note, and we cannot think of one.
Furthermore, appellant’s “price list” note and Roy’s notebook that was seized link the
brothers to the illegal prescription medication trade. Viewed in its totality, the evidence was
sufficient to allow the factfinder to conclude that the brothers had agreed to engage in the illegal
sale of prescription medications and, in fact, had done so on November 23, 2013.
Regarding both convictions, appellant argues that we must reverse his convictions
because he offered the trial court reasonable hypotheses of innocence—that the brothers had
4
That the references on appellant’s note were for pills of a different concentration than the
pills prescribed to Roy is of little significance. The note links appellant to the illegal sale of
Oxycodone, and a simple mathematical conversion would allow one to determine the street value of
Roy’s pills from the information possessed by appellant.
-8-
consumed the pills or that, even if they had sold the missing pills, the remainder could have been
possessed for the purposes of personal consumption—and the evidence did not completely
eliminate these possibilities. This misunderstands both the reasonable-hypothesis principle and
the importance of the factfinder.
Properly understood, the reasonable-hypothesis principle is
not a discrete rule unto itself. The statement that circumstantial
evidence must exclude every reasonable theory of innocence is
simply another way of stating that the Commonwealth has the
burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the principle
does not add to the burden of proof placed upon the
Commonwealth in a criminal case. It merely echoes the standard
applicable to every criminal case.
It is true that a factfinder cannot “arbitrarily” choose, as
between two equally plausible interpretations of a fact, one that
incriminates the defendant. The choice becomes arbitrary,
however, only when no rational factfinder could believe the
incriminating interpretation of the evidence and disbelieve the
exculpatory one. When examining an alternate hypothesis of
innocence, the question is not whether “some evidence” supports
the hypothesis, but whether a rational factfinder could have found
that the incriminating evidence renders the hypothesis of
innocence unreasonable.
Vasquez v. Commonwealth, ___ Va. ___, ___, 781 S.E.2d 920, ___ (2016) (emphasis added)
(internal quotation marks, citations and footnote omitted). Considering all of the evidence, we
cannot say that the factfinder’s rejection of appellant’s story that the brothers had consumed the
missing pills or may not have intended to sell the remainder was arbitrary.
In concluding that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions, we note that we
examine a factfinder’s conclusions “with the highest degree of appellate deference.” Thomas v.
Commonwealth, 48 Va. App. 605, 608, 633 S.E.2d 229, 231 (2006). “An appellate court does
not ‘ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt.’” Williams v. Commonwealth, 278 Va. 190, 193, 677 S.E.2d 280, 282 (2009)
(quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19 (1979)). Instead, the only “relevant question
-9-
is, after reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, whether any
rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable
doubt.” Sullivan v. Commonwealth, 280 Va. 672, 676, 701 S.E.2d 61, 63 (2010) (emphasis
added).
This deferential appellate standard “applies not only to the historical facts themselves, but
the inferences from those facts as well.” Clanton v. Commonwealth, 53 Va. App. 561, 566, 673
S.E.2d 904, 907 (2009) (en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted). “Thus, a factfinder may
‘draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts,’” Tizon v. Commonwealth, 60
Va. App. 1, 10, 723 S.E.2d 260, 264 (2012) (quoting Haskins v. Commonwealth, 44 Va. App. 1,
10, 602 S.E.2d 402, 406 (2004)), “unless doing so would push ‘into the realm of non sequitur,’”
id. (quoting Thomas, 48 Va. App. at 608, 633 S.E.2d at 231). As noted above, the evidence was
sufficient to allow the factfinder to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was guilty
of the crimes charged.
CONCLUSION
Based on the evidence presented, a factfinder reasonably could conclude beyond a
reasonable doubt that appellant possessed morphine with the intent to distribute and conspired with
his brother to distribute controlled substances. Accordingly, we affirm his convictions.
Affirmed.
- 10 -
Alston, J., dissenting, in part.
I join the majority opinion finding the evidence more than sufficient to convict appellant
of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of Code
§§ 18.2-248; 54.1-3446 through 54.1-3452.
I respectfully dissent from the majority decision finding that appellant conspired to
distribute a controlled substance.
“Conspiracy is defined as an agreement between two or more persons by some concerted
action to commit an offense.” Williams v. Commonwealth, 53 Va. App. 50, 59, 669 S.E.2d 354,
358 (2008) (quoting Feigley v. Commonwealth, 16 Va. App. 717, 722, 432 S.E.2d 520, 524
(1993)). “The crime is ‘complete when the parties agree to commit an offense.’” Id. (quoting
Gray v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 675, 680, 537 S.E.2d 862, 865 (2000)). “In order to establish
the existence of a conspiracy, as opposed to mere aiding and abetting, the Commonwealth must
prove the additional element of preconcert and connivance not necessarily inherent in the mere
joint activity common to aiding and abetting.” Id. at 59-60, 669 S.E.2d at 358 (quoting Zuniga v.
Commonwealth, 7 Va. App. 523, 527, 375 S.E.2d 381, 384 (1988)). The Commonwealth “must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an agreement existed.” Floyd v. Commonwealth, 219 Va.
575, 580, 249 S.E.2d 171, 174 (1978) (citing Reed v. Commonwealth, 213 Va. 593, 194 S.E.2d
746 (1973)).
Evaluating the evidence in an effort to find a necessary agreement between appellant and
Roy, even in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, Detective Haney could not testify
with any particularity as to what the notations in Roy’s notebook meant. There certainly was no
testimony that these notations were owe sheets or that they referenced appellant or any stake he
may have in the sale of Oxycodone. Moreover, the paper found in appellant’s pocket did not
reference any agreement or plan to sell Oxycodone on the day of the arrest or in the future; it
- 11 -
merely noted quantities, dosages, and street values of pills not in appellant’s or Roy’s possession.
A reasonable fact-finder might have concluded that the note may prove the crime of aiding and
abetting; however it does not prove or lead to a reasonable inference that Roy and appellant
made an agreement to sell Oxycodone and then acted in concert on that agreement. My reading
of the law of the Commonwealth would suggest that there is a subtle yet significant difference
between the crime of conspiracy and the crime of aiding and abetting. And respectfully, in my
view, the Commonwealth’s evidence is lacking to prove the crime of conspiracy.
For these reasons, I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion affirming appellant’s
conspiracy conviction.
- 12 -