by peter e. bortner
A state prison inmate was acquitted Monday in Schuylkill County Court of possessing marijuana last August in his cell.
Akil A. Johnson, 34, of Altoona, did not react as the jury of eight women and four men found him not guilty of possession of a controlled substance/contraband by an inmate and possession of a small amount of marijuana after deliberating less than an hour.
State police at Frackville had charged Johnson with possessing less than a gram of marijuana about 4:05 p.m. Aug. 17, 2012, in his cell at State Correctional Institution/Mahanoy.
"We were ordered to do an investigative cell search. It was in a baby powder bottle" on top of Johnson's locker, Correctional Officer Aaron Schultz testified.
Correctional Officer Daniel Brzozowski testified he found 15 fingertips - tips of plastic gloves that have been cut out - in the bottle of powder.
In her closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Debi Smith told jurors that Johnson, who did not testify or offer any other evidence, was the man who possessed the marijuana. The fact that the marijuana was found in the powder bottle among Johnson's other cosmetics on top of his locker was critical, she said.
"He doesn't have to have it on his body, in his hands," Smith said. "The real facts are clear. We have an inmate who was in possession of marijuana. The marijuana is contraband in the prison setting."
However, Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins, Johnson's lawyer, successfully argued that the case was far from clear.
"Mr. Johnson was not in his cell. Someone has to know about something before they can control or possess it," Watkins said. "It's his cellmate's cell, too. I don't believe the commonwealth has proven anything with respect to Mr. Johnson."
Johnson has numerous drug-related convictions from Blair County Court.