## Facts

- A seaman cooperating with customs agents received sixteen packages of cocaine (about eight kilograms) in Cartagena, Colombia, to deliver in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to “Palestino” at the Hotel Melia.
- Under surveillance, the seaman went to the hotel, asked for Palestino, and the front desk called Palestino’s room.
- The defendant, Rafael Angel Zavala Maldonado, appeared, directed the seaman to follow him to room 302, and said he was a friend of Palestino who would come to the hotel.
- In the room, Maldonado placed calls on a cellular phone purportedly to reach Palestino and suggested moving the drugs to another room where he had friends; the seaman refused.
- While waiting, the seaman placed the bag containing the cocaine in the room’s closet.
- The seaman persuaded Maldonado to leave the room with him, leaving the bag of cocaine behind in the room.
- Agents detained Maldonado inside the hotel and later recovered the cocaine from the closet.
- A jury in the District of Puerto Rico convicted Maldonado of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to permit a rational jury to find that Maldonado constructively possessed the cocaine with intent to distribute.
2. Whether sustained prosecutorial objections during defense counsel’s closing argument improperly restricted the defense and required reversal.

## Decision

- The First Circuit affirmed the conviction.
- The court held that the evidence allowed a rational jury to find constructive possession because the cocaine was knowingly left in a location Maldonado controlled while awaiting delivery.
- The court ruled that the trial judge’s control of closing argument, including sustaining certain objections, fell within permissible discretion and did not deprive Maldonado of a fair trial.

## Legal Principles

- Constructive possession exists when a defendant has the power and intent to exercise control over contraband, even without physical possession at the time of arrest.
- Constructive possession may be inferred from dominion and control over the place where contraband is stored, along with conduct showing knowledge and intended control; exclusive control is not required.
- On sufficiency review, appellate courts view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and uphold it if a rational juror could find the elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Large quantities of drugs may support an inference of intent to distribute.
- Trial courts have broad discretion to regulate closing arguments; reversal requires a showing that restrictions prevented meaningful argument or rendered the trial unfair.

## Conclusion

The First Circuit upheld Maldonado’s § 841(a)(1) conviction, concluding that the jury could reasonably find he constructively possessed eight kilograms of cocaine left in a hotel room under his control and that the trial court’s handling of objections during summation did not warrant a new trial.


United States v. Maldonado, 23 F.3d 4 (1st Cir. 1994)