Rose v. State

WENNER, Judge. Appellant, Granville Thomas Rose, was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Cecil County (Rollins, J. presiding) of unlawfully bringing into Maryland 100 pounds or greater of marijuana (Count I), possession of marijuana in sufficient quantity to reasonably indicate under all circumstances an intent to distribute (Count II), and knowingly transporting a handgun in a vehicle (Count IV). He was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment for Count I, five years imprisonment for Count II, concurrent with Count I and three years imprisonment for Count IV, also concurrent with Count I. Upon appeal he contends that: I. The evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for unlawfully bringing into Maryland 100 pounds or greater of marijuana.

II

The trial judge erred in refusing to instruct the jury that the crime of unlawfully bringing into Maryland 100 pounds or greater of marijuana requires an intent to distribute in Maryland.

III

Separate convictions and sentences for both unlawfully bringing into Maryland 100 pounds or greater of marijuana and possession of marijuana in sufficient quantity to reasonably indicate under all circumstances an intent to distribute are improper.

IV

The commitment record erroneously states that the sentence imposed upon appellant for unlawfully transporting a handgun in a vehicle is five years imprisonment. We shall affirm the convictions, but remand the case to the circuit court so that the record can be amended to correct the error in the commitment for the handgun violation. FACTS On the afternoon of August 5, 1986 Trooper Jeffrey Buehler of the Maryland State Police was patrolling north ⁶⁴⁷ bound on 1-95 in Cecil County when he observed a car with a Connecticut license plate drifting from one lane to another. Concerned that the driver might have been falling asleep, Buehler stopped the car and, as he approached the driver’s side of the car, detected a strong odor of marijuana.

After appellant provided Buehler with a Florida license and the car’s registration, Buehler advised appellant that he would be receiving a warning for failing to drive within a single lane and obtained from appellant written consent to search the car. In the glove compartment Buehler found a loaded nine millimeter automatic handgun and gun case and receipts showing that the gun and ammunition had been purchased by appellant from a pawnbroker in Miami, Florida, on July 21, 1986 and that the gun case had been purchased from the same pawnbroker on July 24, 1986. At that point, appellant was arrested and frisked. In his shirt pocket were 5.8 grams of marijuana and a package of rolling papers.

Buehler continued his search of the car and in the trunk found a bag of dirty laundry and two cardboard boxes and four plastic bags containing a total of 235 pounds of fresh, apparently recently cut marijuana. Appellant was taken to the State Police barracks where he was advised of his Miranda 1 rights and made a statement. Appellant said that he had purchased the gun in Miami because he is a taxi driver in Connecticut and needed the gun for protection. He also said that while in Connecticut he was hired by a person to drive a vehicle from the Washington area to Connecticut.

Appellant was to travel by train to the Washington area on August 5, 1986, pick up the vehicle near the train station, and drive it to Hartford, Connecticut. On arrival in Hartford, he was to leave the vehicle on a certain road next to a blue and grey house, and leave the keys under the floormat. Appellant said that an envelope containing the keys to the vehicle and the instructions had been left in his mailbox at his Connecticut ad ⁶⁴⁸ dress, and that he was paid $500 for his services. Appellant also said that the bag of laundry was his and that he did not notice or smell the marijuana when he put the laundry into the trunk.

I. Appellant was charged with a violation of Md.Ann.Code art. 27, § 286A(a)(l) (1987 Repl.Vol.) which specifically provides: “(a) A person who brings into this State, any of the following controlled dangerous substances which it is unlawful for that person to possess, in the amounts indicated, upon conviction, is subject to the penalty provided in subsection (b) of this section: (1) 100