People v. Lopez

WILSON,

J.—Defendant was found guilty of violating sec-

tion 337a of the Penal Code.

†

He has appealed from the

[292]

judgment of conviction on the grounds that (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain the judgment, and (2) the punishment imposed upon him is cruel and unusual.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

A police officer entered a cocktail bar at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon and observed defendant who was seated at the bar with three or four other persons. The officer kept defendant under observation for about 40 minutes; during that time defendant looked at a scratch sheet which was lying on the bar; the other persons looked at the scratch sheet and pointed to it while they were talking to defendant; one man banded some money to defendant who picked up the scratch sheet, went to a telephone booth and dialed a number. While talking on the telephone he looked at the scratch sheet. He then returned to the bar. Another person looked at the scratch sheet and said to defendant, “I want two and two on Gold Jig. ’ ’ This person removed his wallet from his pocket and handed defendant some currency. Defendant went to another telephone booth, dialed a number and held a short conversation while looking at the scratch sheet. When he returned to the bar the officer placed him under arrest. He had $16 in his pocket.

The officer obtained the scratch sheet which had been used by defendant and the other persons. It was entitled “National Scratch Sheet” and its date was the date of the occurrence above mentioned.

It was stipulated that the officer was qualified to testify concerning the manner in which bookmaking is conducted in Los Angeles County. He testified that Gold Jig was the name of a horse and, referring to the scratch sheet which had been taken from defendant, testified that Gold Jig was entered in the sixth race at Golden Gate Fields, a horse racing track in the United States.

The foregoing evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction.