Commonwealth of Virginia v. Jerome Lee Wilkerson

Norfolk, Virginia criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with possession of drugs.



On February 20, 2020, Sergeant Hoggard of the Norfolk Sherriff's Office received information that there was cocaine in cell block 2K of the Norfolk City Jail. After the inmates were all secured in one area, Sergeant Hoggard and a team searched cell block 2K with a narcotics-detecting canine.



At the time of the search, there were between 30 and 40 inmates residing in cell block 2K, which had room for up to 144 inmates. The cell block had an open "day room" with tables and chairs, and also had twelve "huts," which were separate sections that could be locked down independently. Each hut contained twelve bunks. At the time of the search, about four inmates were using hut number one for sleeping, including Jerome Lee Wilkerson.



When the team searched hut number one, the canine alerted to a personal property bag which was located on Wilkerson's bunk. The search revealed that the bag contained two rolls of toilet paper and "assorted paperwork bearing [Wilkerson's] name," including a medical form. Hidden inside one of the toilet paper rolls was a plastic bag with a white powder substance in it; the substance was later confirmed to be 1.03 grams of powder cocaine.



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Sergeant Hoggard spoke with Wilkerson in Sergeant Hoggard's office. During that conversation, Wilkerson acknowledged that the property bag belonged to him, but denied knowing about any powder substance in it. Sergeant Hoggard then asked if anyone else ever got into Wilkerson's property bag, to which Wilkerson responded: "F**k no. Ain't no one goes into [] my bag. I watch my bag. They know better. I check my bag every 15 minutes." Sergeant Hoggard did not ask any further questions about how Wilkerson checked his bag.



Wilkerson was charged in the Circuit Court for the City of Norfolk with knowingly or intentionally possessing a controlled substance in violation of Code § 18.2-250.



At the bench trial, Sergeant Hoggard testified that hut number one was the place where Wilkerson "had been observed sleeping and relaxing before." Sergeant Hoggard said that Wilkerson appeared to be the only person using the bunk bed where his property bag was found.



Sergeant Hoggard explained that inmates could keep their property bags at all times in their assigned cell blocks, but were required to leave their bags in their cell blocks whenever they went somewhere else, such as instances when they had to attend court, conference with an attorney, or receive medical care. Sergeant Hoggard testified that the doors of the huts were "primarily kept open" and would be closed if there were a lockdown or other issue in the cell block. Sergeant Hoggard stated that anybody in the cell block "would have access" to any of the huts.



Sergeant Hoggard did not know the occasion upon which Wilkerson had last left cell block 2K before the search. He explained that the sheriff's office is supposed to log inmates in and out of the cell block, and that he did not have those records with him, but that he had reviewed surveillance video footage of cell block 2K to "determine if anybody went near that area." When the Commonwealth asked a follow up question about the surveillance video,

Wilkerson's counsel objected to any additional testimony related to the video footage on the basis of hearsay and not having been provided any video footage through discovery. The Commonwealth acknowledged that the video had not been provided to him either and agreed to "leave it alone." No additional testimony regarding the surveillance video was elicited.



After the Commonwealth rested, Wilkerson moved to strike, arguing that the Commonwealth had failed to prove that he had knowledge of the cocaine, since anyone in the cell block had access to the hut where Wilkerson's bag was found. The circuit court denied Wilkerson's motion to strike.



Wilkerson offered no evidence. He then renewed his motion to strike. In denying Wilkerson's renewed motion to strike, the circuit court stated: "I think but for the statement to Sergeant Hoggard, you might have something, but I think the statement to Sergeant Hoggard makes the case." The circuit court found Wilkerson guilty of possessing a controlled substance and sentenced him to nine months' incarceration.

Affirmed