Tamir M. Taylor v. Commonwealth of Virginia

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Willis, Bumgardner and Senior Judge Overton
Argued at Richmond, Virginia
TAMIR M. TAYLOR
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 0411-99-2 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR.
MAY 9, 2000
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF HENRICO COUNTY
George F. Tidey, Judge
Darryl A. Parker for appellant.
Marla Graff Decker, Assistant Attorney
General (Mark L. Earley, Attorney General;
Leah A. Darron, Assistant Attorney General,
on brief), for appellee.
On appeal from her conviction of felony child neglect, in
violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(B), Tamir M. Taylor contends that
the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. We
affirm.
Code § 18.2-371.1(B) provides: "Any parent, guardian, or
other person responsible for the care of a child under the age
of eighteen whose willful act or omission in the care of such
child was so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless
disregard for human life shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony."
* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code
§ 17-116.010, this opinion is not designated for publication.
"Where the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged after
conviction, it is our duty to consider it in the light most
favorable to the Commonwealth and give it all reasonable
inferences fairly deducible therefrom. We should affirm the
judgment unless it appears from the evidence that the judgment
is plainly wrong or without evidence to support it."
Higginbotham v. Commonwealth, 216 Va. 349, 352, 218 S.E.2d 534,
537 (1975)).
On April 18, 1998, Taylor invited Henrico County police
officers inside her apartment, where the officers immediately
noticed smoke and smelled marijuana. Several adults, who had
been in the living room, ran to the rear of the apartment.
Based on their observations, the officers secured the apartment
and obtained a search warrant.
Sitting in the living room throughout the incident was
Taylor's six-year-old daughter, Malise. Upon searching Malise's
bedroom, the officers found a juvenile male, in possession of
marijuana, hiding in the child's closet. Two loaded handguns
were lying on her bed. A large plastic container and a shoebox
lid, both containing marijuana residue, were sitting on her
dresser. Several bags of marijuana were found under her bed,
near her closet, and elsewhere in her room.
In Taylor's bedroom, police found more bags of marijuana,
partially burned marijuana cigarettes, and an assault rifle
hidden in the air conditioning duct. More marijuana, packaging
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supplies, and another weapon were found elsewhere in the
apartment. Taylor told police that some of the contraband
belonged to her boyfriend, who spent nights in the apartment.
She admitted that her boyfriend was a drug dealer who carried
guns to protect his drugs and money.
Malise was present in the living room while armed adults
were preparing marijuana for sale. Drug deals had been made in
and around Malise's presence. Taylor acknowledged that drug
dealing was a violent activity and that her boyfriend was a drug
dealer.
Taylor exposed Malise directly to drug dealing and its
hazards, as well as to loaded firearms. She thus showed a
culpable disregard for the child's life. Further, evidence
showed that the air in the apartment was thick with marijuana
smoke. Police found in Malise's room a nebulizer machine and
prescription medications used to treat severe cases of asthma.
Malise's condition was so severe that, in the past, Taylor had
needed to take her to the emergency room for treatment. Heavy
smoke exacerbates respiratory ailments such as asthma.
Taylor willfully, wantonly, and culpably allowed in her
home activities that exposed Malise to drug activity, loaded
weapons, and risk of death. By smoking marijuana in the
apartment and by allowing the air in the apartment to be
saturated with smoke, Taylor showed a reckless and wanton
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disregard for Malise's life and health. Proof of such conduct
supports Taylor's conviction.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
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