People v. Holliday

FOX, J.

Appellant was charged in count one with transporting marijuana and in count- two with possession thereof, each in violation of section 11500, Health and Safety Code. He was convicted on both counts. He appeals from the judgment and the order denying his motion for a new trial.

Appellant does not attack the judgment on count two— possession. He does, however, challenge his conviction on the charge of transportation on the grounds (1) of the insufficiency of the evidence, and (2) that only a single act is here involved yet two separate criminal offenses have been carved out of it. His position is not well founded.

As a result of a previous contact, appellant, who was in a coupé driven by his codefendant, Kelly, approached Officer Ruskin’s car and inquired whether he had the money. Upon receiving an affirmative reply, appellant got out of his car and went back of a near-by building. He returned with a brown paper bag and said, “Here it is.” Ruskin examined the contents which were identified by appellant as marijuana, but protested the quality and refused to make the purchase. Appellant returned with the bag to the Kelly car which later stopped in front of a small hotel. Appellant went into the hotel, Kelly remaining at the wheel. Kelly was then arrested, and a bag containing approximately one half pound of marijuana was found on the passenger side of the seat near the door.

Appellant was observed coming out of room 8 and locking the door. He denied living there but upon demand produced one of his personal keys that unlocked the door. The manager of the hotel testified that he rented the room to Kelly under the name Jordan, but he had seen appellant around the hotel about once a week since Kelly had lived there, and had seen him enter the latter’s room.

Upon a search of the room, approximately 11 pounds of marijuana were found in various bags and in a trunk which also contained a scales.

[564]

The circumstances here revealed, viz., the large quantity of marijuana in “Kelly’s” room together with the scales, the possession of a key to this room hy appellant, and his frequent presence there; the fact that Kelly was driving appellant when Buskin was first contacted relative to a sale, waited until the abortive transaction was concluded, then drove him back to the hotel where the contraband was stored and stayed in the car while appellant went into the room with his own key; and that the paper sack of marijuana which had been transported was on the front seat where both Kelly and appellant had been riding, reasonably justified the trial court in drawing the inference that appellant and Kelly were jointly engaged in selling marijuana and that they had joint possession of the bag and its contents found on the front seat of the car.