People v. Triche

THE COURT.

Appellant, together with his codefendant Rose Tregre, was found guilty by the court, a jury hearing being waived, of violation of section 11500 of the Health

[200]

and Safety Code in that on September 27, 1955, they unlawfully had in their possession some heroin. He had admitted three prior convictions, of which two were for violation of section 11500,

supra.

His motion for a new trial was denied and he was sentenced to San Quentin, the judgment to run concurrently with other terms, if any, to which he had been sentenced. He appeals from the order denying the motion for a new trial and from the judgment of conviction.

Over the objection of the defendants, the court at the trial admitted into evidence four bindles of heroin seized in the search of an apartment at 714 - 32nd Street in Oakland, and also a statement voluntarily given to police officers and signed by appellant in which he admitted that the apartment had been rented by the defendants together, that they had lived there together for about 12 days, that they had bought the heroin together (they disagree as to whose money was used for' the purchase), that both had used part of it, that they had put the remainder into bindles, that he had placed the bindles in the closet where they were found and that they belonged to both of them. Appellant’s objection was based on the contention that both the signed admissions and the proof of the corpus delicti were the result of and vitiated by an illegal search. The overruling of this objection constitutes the only grievance on appeal.

The foundation laid by the People for the admittance of said evidence was to the following effect: On September 27, 1955, at 11:30 a. m., Officer Ingram of the Oakland Police Department, Special Services Division, received a telephone call from a reliable informant, who was known to him and had given him reliable information before, but whose name he refused to divulge, that he had seen four bindles of heroin in a closet at 714 - 32nd Street in a rear apartment in which Rose Tregre and Ray Triche were living. The officer had stopped Rose Tregre a number of times on the street and in examining her arms had found puncture marks and scars like those of narcotic users; he also knew that she associated with narcotic users and narcotic dealers. He had known Triche since 1950 when Triche was arrested for investigation of narcotics. He associated Triche with the narcotic traffic and had stopped him also a number of times and checked his arms. After receiving the above information the officer, together with a second one, without procuring a search warrant, went to the' address given him. The informant also came there, repeated his information and indicated the apart