People v. Hanley

DRAPEAU, J.

*

Three men were charged in an information filed by the District Attorney of Los Angeles County with possession of marijuana. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11500.)

[545]

The superior court dismissed the information, under the provisions of section 995 of the Penal Code.

The People appeal from the order.

The facts shown in the preliminary examination are as follows:

Police officers of the city of Long Beach searched an automobile and three men in it. The automobile had stopped at the entrance to the air force base in that city, “to let two people out.” The officers found marijuana in a paper sack in the pocket of Simmons’ coat, one of the defendants; marijuana was brushed from the coat of defendant Vildosola at the police station later on; and marijuana was found on the floor board of the automobile, which was driven by defendant Hanley.

Hanley told the arresting officers that he and the other two men had planned to go to Los Angeles, where Vildosola was to get a can of marijuana for $10; that they went to Los Angeles in his car, and after two or three hours Vildosola got the marijuana; and that when they were arrested they were on their way to the barracks at the air base to roll some marijuana cigarettes.

So we come to the decisive question on this appeal: Was the evidence supporting the foregoing facts incompetent because it was obtained by unlawful search and seizure of the automobile and of the three defendants? Or, stated another way: Did the officers have reasonable cause to believe defendants were guilty of a felony, to justify arresting them, searching them and their automobile ?

The facts bearing upon this question are as follows:

The officers had no warrants for the arrest of any defendant, and no warrant to search the automobile.

Prior to the night of the arrest an informer had called a police officer in the police station in Long Beach, and told him that the three defendants had smoked marijuana on occasions at the B.O.Q. barracks, and had been to Los Angeles to get narcotics.