New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2017

State v. Morales

State v. Morales
New Mexico Court of Appeals · Decided April 13, 2017

State v. Morales

Opinion

This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports.

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1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO, 3 Plaintiff-Appellee, v. NO. 35,440 JORGE MORALES, 6 Defendant-Appellant.

7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF EDDY COUNTY Lisa B. Riley, District Judge

9 Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General Santa Fe, NM for Appellee Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender Kathleen T. Baldridge, Assistant Appellate Defender Santa Fe, NM for Appellant 16 MEMORANDUM OPINION WECHSLER, Judge.

1 {1} Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. [MIO 1] This Court’s notice of proposed summary disposition proposed to hold that the evidence offered at trial was sufficient to support the verdict rendered. [CN 3] Defendant has filed a memorandum in opposition to that disposition, which we have duly considered.

6 Unpersuaded, we now affirm.

7 {2} In order to obtain a conviction, the State was required to establish at trial that Defendant possessed methamphetamine, knowing or believing that it was methamphetamine, and intending to transfer possession of that methamphetamine to someone else. [RP 119] At Defendant’s trial, testimony was offered that thirty-three small baggies found in Defendant’s motel room contained methamphetamine. [DS 5] During a subsequent interview with agents of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, Defendant “told them that the methamphetamine was his, explained where he obtained the drugs, how much he paid for the drugs and what he expected to earn from his sale of the drugs.” [MIO 2] As suggested in our notice of proposed summary disposition, the above-described evidence would generally be sufficient to lead a reasonable person to believe that Defendant knowingly possessed methamphetamine, intending to transfer that methamphetamine to someone else. [CN 3]

1 {3} When an appeal is assigned to the summary calendar, “the burden is on the party opposing the proposed disposition to clearly point out errors in fact or law.”

3 Hennessy v. Duryea, 1998-NMCA-036, ¶ 24, 124 N.M. 754, 955 P.2d 683.

4 Defendant’s memorandum in opposition maintains that the evidence was insufficient, but it does not point out any factual or legal error in the notice of proposed disposition. Consequently, and for the reasons addressed in the notice of proposed disposition, we affirm the judgment and sentence of the district court.

8 {4} IT IS SO ORDERED.

9 ________________________________ 10 JAMES J. WECHSLER, Judge

11 WE CONCUR:

12 ________________________________ LINDA M. VANZI, Chief Judge

14 ________________________________ STEPHEN G. FRENCH, Judge

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