Page:Jones v. State, 357 Ark. 545 (2004).pdf/8

552 driving a red Chevrolet pickup truck with Oklahoma tags. When Officer Carter stopped the vehicle, appellant was driving the vehicle. According to the testimony of Officer Williams, the five plastic bags with the white residue were found behind the driver's seat of the vehicle. These circumstances satisfy the third and fourth factors of constructive possession, as appellant was the driver of the vehicle, the drugs were found directly behind the driver's seat, and he exercised dominion and control over the vehicle. Additionally, a syringe, which was described as drug paraphernalia by Detective Smith, was found on appellant's person. Detective Smith testified that syringes are the most common method of injecting methamphetamine.

We agree with the State that Dodson v. State, 341 Ark. 41, 14 S.W.3d 489 (2000), is controlling precedent as to this case. In Dodson, appellant was accompanied by two other passengers when the vehicle was stopped by a police officer for a traffic violation. The police officer then saw a brown leather satchel protruding from the right side of the passenger's seat where another passenger had been sitting, and during a search, both marijuana and methamphetamine were found. A large sum of cash was also discovered. We held that the appellant in that case constructively possessed the controlled substances because, notwithstanding that the drugs were found on the other side of the vehicle, he was in close proximity to them, he was in control of the vehicle, and he acted suspiciously during arrest. Id.

[7] Although there was no testimony that appellant in the present case acted suspiciously, we believe that Dodson applies because of the combined third and fourth Mings factors in addition to drug paraphernalia being found on appellant's person. Based upon our standard of review in viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we cannot say that the trial court erred in denying appellant's motion for directed verdict on the constructive-possession charge.

For his second point on appeal, appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict on the constructive-possession charge for the lack of a usable amount of methamphetamine. Specifically, appellant contends that the State failed to show that appellant possessed a usable amount of methamphetamine in the five plastic bags to establish a violation of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-401(c).