People v. Brown

SHINN, P. J.

Moody Lorenzo Brown was indicted for and in a court trial convicted of an offense of selling heroin and was sentenced to state prison. Brown appeals from the judgment and the denial of his motion for new trial.

The evidence consisted of the transcript of the proceedings before the grand jury and additional evidence introduced at the trial. Justin B. Burley, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy assigned to the narcotics detail, was the chief witness for the People. The following is the substance of his testimony. The officer received information from a Sergeant Kiho that a man called Moody Malek was selling narcotics. On June 21, 1957, Burley and a confidential informant, Eddie Jordan, drove to 106th Street and Avalon Boulevard in Los Angeles. The officer placed a telephone call to Moody Malek at Pleasant 54380 and listened over the earpiece to a conversation between Jordan and Malek. At 2:30 p. m., Burley and Jordan drove to 105th Street and Stanford, where they met Malek. Jordan gave Malek $10; Malek gave the informer a paper bindle which Jordan handed to the officer. At 10 p. m., Burley and Jordan drove back to 106th and Avalon and placed

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another telephone call to Malek. A few minutes later they drove to 105th and Stanford. The officer handed $10 to the informer. Jordan left the automobile and walked over to Malek, who was standing 15 or 20 feet away from the car. Malek and Jordan 11 exchanged something,” whereupon the latter returned to the car and handed a second paper bindle to Officer Burley. The two bindles were proved to contain heroin. They were introduced in evidence without objection.

In his testimony before the grand jury, Burley described Moody Malek as a male Negro, about 6 feet tall and weighing between 160 and 170 pounds, having straight hair and a light complexion. The officer testified at the trial that his previous description of Malek was incorrect. He identified appellant Brown as the man he saw on June 21st and stated that the voice he heard over the telephone was that of appellant. Upon being asked Jordan’s whereabouts at the time of trial, the officer replied that he did not know where Jordan was.

Brown testified in his own behalf that he did not sell any narcotics to Eddie Jordan. He denied knowing Jordan and denied using the name of Moody Malek. He stated that he was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. On cross-examination, he admitted that the telephone number at his residence was Pleasant 54380.