COMMONWEALTH v. RANDALL (2019)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 1:28

The defendant appeals from his conviction of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. The marijuana at issue was found in the locked trunk of a vehicle in which the defendant was the passenger, after a routine traffic stop and a subsequent inventory search. The driver of the vehicle was one Marshane Trowers. Earlier this year, a panel of this court reversed Trowers's conviction of possession with intent to distribute marijuana on these same facts, finding the evidence insufficient. Commonwealth v. Trowers, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 1118 (2019). In light of our decision in Trowers the Commonwealth concedes that the defendant's conviction must be reversed as well. We agree.

We determined in Trowers that the factual circumstances of his case were indistinguishable from those in Commonwealth v. Garcia, 409 Mass. 675 (1991). As in Garcia, in this case the marijuana was also found in a vehicle's locked trunk. See id. at 677. The vehicle was not registered to or owned by either the defendant or Trowers, and there was no evidence adduced that linked either defendant to the drugs, or to sales of drugs in general. Both the defendant and Trowers denied any knowledge of the drugs, and neither made any incriminating statements. As in Garcia, the sum of the Commonwealth's evidence was the defendant's “presence in the vehicle where the [drugs were] discovered.” Id. at 687. In the circumstances the conviction must be reversed.

Judgment reversed.

Finding set aside.

Judgment for the defendant.