Edelmira Hernandez v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 81st Judicial District Court of Frio County

MEMORANDUM OPINION

No. 04-04-00531-CR

Edelmira HERNANDEZ,

Appellant

v.

The STATE of Texas,

Appellee

From the 81st Judicial District Court, Frio County, Texas

Trial Court No. 03-08-00099-CRF

Honorable Donna S. Rayes, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Sarah B. Duncan, Justice

Sitting: Catherine Stone, Justice

Sarah B. Duncan, Justice

Sandee Bryan Marion, Justice

Delivered and Filed: August 31, 2005

AFFIRMED

Edelmira Hernandez appeals the trial court s judgment convicting her of possession of cocaine and sentencing her to eight years in prison. In a single point of error, Hernandez argues the evidence is legally insufficient to support her conviction because the State was required to prove an affirmative link between [her] and the cocaine to the extent that the independent facts and circumstances excluded every other reasonable hypothesis except that of the guilt of the accused. Hernandez is incorrect. Although older opinions of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals employed the outstanding reasonable hypothesis standard in connection with a search for evidence linking the accused to illegal drugs, [c]learly, any aspects of those cases which rely on that standard no longer control. See Brown v. State, 911 S.W.2d 744, 748 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). The ultimate consequence is that each defendant must still be affirmatively linked with the drugs he allegedly possessed, but this link need no longer be so strong that it excludes every other outstanding reasonable hypothesis except the defendant s guilt. Id. Factors that may affirmatively link an accused to contraband include: (1) the defendant s ownership or right to possess the place where the drugs are found; (2) the defendant s presence when the search is conducted, (3) the presence of contraband or drug paraphernalia, (4) the defendant s possession of a large amount of cash, and (5) the defendant s name on bills addressed to the house where the contraband is found. See Olivarez v. State, No. 14-03-01252-CR, 2005 WL 1385355 at *4 (Tex. App. Houston [14th Dist.] June 2, 2005, no pet. h.); Puente v. State, 888 S.W.2d 521, 526 (Tex. App. San Antonio 1994, no pet.). The requisite affirmative links were established here by evidence that Hernandez owned the house that was raided and was present when the raid was conducted; and, during the raid, the task force found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in Hernandez s home, cocaine in a jacket hanging in a room in which the officer also found, lying on a dresser, a telephone bill with Hernandez s name and address on it, and $2360 (including a serialized bill an informant had used to purchase cocaine from Hernandez before the raid) in Hernandez s wallet. We hold this evidence is legally sufficient to support the finding of guilt and affirm the trial court s judgment.

Sarah B. Duncan, Justice

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