Second District Appellate Court Decides There Was Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Defendant Knew Parcel Received in the Mail Contained Cocaine.

In this case, a parcel was identified by postal inspectors, subjected to a canine sniff, and then opened with a warrant. Some 2300 grams of a white powdery substance was identified. Most of it was confiscated, but over 100 grams was sent through the mail in a controlled delivery to a house where the defendant accepted the package.

The defendant contended that his testimony that he did not know about the cocaine, combined with the evidence that, despite opening the parcel, he did not expose the cocaine, meant that the State had not proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as a matter of law.

The appellate court relied on the fact that he opened a package not addressed to him as well as the implausibility of his story to conclude that a jury could find proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is People v. Charles Adrian Scott; 2018 IL App (2d) 151056

http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2018/2ndDistrict/2151056.pdf

Categories: 
Related Posts
  • Number 10 of Bill Wolf’s “Top Ten” Fourth Amendment Cases for Illinois Lawyers: The Illinois Appellate Court Case of People v. McCavitt. Read More
  • U.S. Supreme Court Holds Defendants Sentenced on Mandatory Minimum Ineligible for Later Sentencing Reductions Based on Reduction in Guidelines Range. Read More
  • Seventh Circuit Orders Limited Remand in Light of United States v. Dean Read More
/