California v. McCloud

In 2012, police searched a residence where Bobbie McCloud happened to rent a room. The officers were initially there to perform a probation search of someone else, but ended up arresting McCloud when they found crack cocaine and a loaded gun inside his bedroom. In early 2013, after McCloud had been released from custody on bail for charges related to that incident, police once again found him in possession of crack cocaine. The prosecution charged McCloud with felony possession for sale for the 2012 incident, along with three felonies based on firearm possession. For the 2013 incident, the prosecution charged him with felony transportation for sale, misdemeanor possession of a stun gun by a felon, and misdemeanor resisting an officer. The jury convicted McCloud of all the charges except the three firearm-related felonies. In a subsequent trial, the court found McCloud had a prison prior, a prior strike conviction for robbery, and three prior super strike convictions for assaulting an officer with a machine gun, and it sentenced him to a total of 28 years 8 months to life. McCloud appeal, arguing: (1) the trial court failed to instruct the jury that “transportation” means for the purpose of sale following the 2014 amendment to Health and Safety Code section 11352; (2) the evidence supporting the possession-for-sale conviction was the fruit of an unlawful warrantless search; and (3) the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the prosecution to amend the super strike allegations to correct a clerical error after the jury had been discharged. After review, the Court of Appeal concluded McCloud’s second and third arguments lacked merit, but the first did not. In the published portion of its opinion, the Court concluded the jury instructions for transportation for sale omitted an essential element of the offense and the evidence supporting the missing element was not overwhelming. That conviction was reversed, but the judgment was affirmed in all other respects. View "California v. McCloud" on Justia Law