IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 17-1716
Filed June 6, 2018
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
BRIAN MCCONNELEE
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Delaware County, Stephanie C.
Rattenborg, District Associate Judge.
Brian McConnelee appeals from judgment and sentence entered upon his
guilty plea. AFFIRMED.
John J. Bishop, Cedar Rapids, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.
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DANILSON, Chief Judge.
Brian McConnelee appeals from judgment and sentence entered upon his
guilty plea, contending his attorney was ineffective in allowing him to plead guilty
without a factual basis. We affirm.
McConnelee entered into an agreement whereby he would plead guilty to
the charge of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), second
offense, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(5) (2016), and the State would
drop charges of third-offense possession of a controlled substance and operating
while license revoked. The district court accepted McConnelee’s plea and entered
an order imposing a sentence of two years in prison; a fine of $625, which was
suspended; a $125 law enforcement surcharge; a $10 DARE fee; and a 180 day
driver’s license suspension. McConnelee appeals.
“Where a factual basis for a charge does not exist, and trial counsel allows
the defendant to plead guilty anyway, counsel has failed to perform an essential
duty.” State v. Schminkey, 597 N.W.2d 785, 788 (Iowa 1999). “A factual basis
can be discerned from four sources: (1) inquiry of the defendant, (2) inquiry of the
prosecutor, (3) examination of the presentence report, and (4) minutes of
evidence.” State v. Ortiz, 789 N.W.2d 761, 768 (Iowa 2010). “[W]e have held the
record does not need to show the totality of evidence necessary to support a guilty
conviction, but it need only demonstrate facts that support the offense.” Id.
McConnellee argues there is nothing in the record to support a finding he
“knowingly or intentionally possessed a controlled substance.” Intent is rarely
subject to direct proof. See Schminkey, 597 N.W.2d at 789. “[T]he facts and
circumstances surrounding the act, as well as any reasonable inferences to be
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drawn from those facts and circumstances, may be relied upon to ascertain the
defendant’s intent.” Id.
Here, the minutes of evidence show McConnelee had “a large object in [his]
front right pocket,” which turned out to be “two items of drug paraphernalia”: “one
item was a pink broken meth pipe and the other was a light bulb meth pipe with
residue.” Officer Trumblee recognized the items as paraphernalia used to
consume methamphetamine. Officer Trumblee “also located a scale, several
baggies, and a silver triangle in the pocket of [McConnelee’s] hooded sweatshirt,”
and “the triangle also had residue on it.” Field-testing of the paraphernalia
indicated the pink pipe tested positive for methamphetamine. This circumstantial
evidence supports a very reasonable inference that McConnelee knowingly and
intentionally possessed methamphetamine.
McConnelee has failed to prove counsel breached a duty in allowing him to
plead guilty. We therefore affirm.
AFFIRMED.