People v. Candalaria

FOX, J.

Defendant was convicted of violating section 11714 of the Health and Safety Code in that he sold, furnished and administered heroin to Rosamond, a minor. He appeals from the ensuing judgment and order denying his motion for a new trial.

In January of this year, Bob drove Rosamond and her girl friend, Carol, also a minor, to defendant’s home. The latter joined them in Bob’s automobile where Rosamond had

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a conversation with him about the purchase of some heroin from him. Defendant left the car and went to the side of the house and returned with some object in his hand. There was further conversation between the girls and defendant relative to buying “half a cap.” Carol asked defendant “if it was good and he said yes.” Rosamond gave defendant $5.00. The four young people drove to an orange grove on the other side of San Fernando, stopping at a hydrant, however, to fill the top of Carol’s make-up case. Upon reaching the middle of the orange grove they stopped. Defendant brought forth a cellophane packet of capsules from his sock. Then “an outfit” consisting of a hypodermic needle, eyedropper, cotton, matches, and bottle cap was produced. Defendant then emptied a white powder from one of the capsules into the bottle cap, put in a few drops of water, mixed it and “cooked it” by applying a lighted match. By the use of the eye-dropper and cotton the liquid was transferred to the needle, injected into Rosamond’s arm and the back of Carol’s hand. Defendant also had an injection.

On another occasion, at Carol’s home, defendant furnished capsules of light brown powder which were “cooked” in the bathroom, where the liquid was injected into the girls’ veins. There was testimony that at another time Rosamond gave defendant $10 for “two caps.” Carol never gave defendant any money directly, but she gave it to Rosamond for delivery to him.

Carol testified that she had used heroin at least 30 or 40 times, at irregular intervals, and had gotten it either by sale or gift from 10 to 15 different people before she met defendant. She had blue needle marks on the back of both hands and wrists when she testified. She described the sensation and testified that she got the same effect from these injections. When she gave up the use of narcotics she suffered certain withdrawal symptoms which she described. Rosamond had used various narcotics for about two years, having used heroin perhaps 20 times during the past year. She, too, described the sensations and effects of these shots. The testimony of the girls as to the method of preparing heroin for injection, its color, the sensation received from it, and the withdrawal symptoms caused by failure to use the drug corresponded very closely to that of an expert on the same subjects.