People v. Salinas

PEEK, J.

This is an appeal by defendant, Alfred Salinas, from a judgment of conviction of a violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code, and from the order denying his motion for a new trial.

The record discloses that the defendant wás apprehended while driving an automobile in the city' of- Sacramento and was then taken to a house in Broderick, Yolo County. While one inspector remained with the defendant in the car, two other officers entered the front door of the residence. . The key by which they gained admittance was attached to a key ring on which was the ignition key to the car operated by the defendant. Inside the residence they found- the defendant, Etha Law, who acknowledged that. she rented • a room to defendant Salinas. -During their,--search of the premises one of the inspectors noticed an object which contained white powder protruding from the brassiere being worn by Law. He also noticed a brown capsule on the floor near her feet. Upon inquiry concerning the nature of the contents of the two containers, she stated she had received the white powder from a doctor in Sacramento; ;that• it.,was .originally codeine tablets, but that she had ground the same into powder

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form to make it easier to swallow since she could not sivallow tablets. She stated she did not know how the brown container got on the floor. Salinas was then brought into the house. During the time he remained in the ear with the inspectors, defendant informed them that the car belonged to a Mr. Law who had been unable to keep up the payments; that he, the defendant, was presently making the payments, and was to keep possession until Mr. Law could repay him. Defendant further told the officers that he lived at the residence only occasionally. He also stated that defendant Law had nothing to do with the matter

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that the narcotics were his; that she knew nothing about it and that he had obtained the same earlier that morning from a Mexican; that he had paid nothing therefor, but was to pay at a later date when he had disposed of it. • He further stated to the officers that the brown substance was heroin and that the white substance was a powder used for cutting heroin. Subsequently he made similar stateménts while being interrogated at the office of the State Bureau of Narcotics in Sacramento. The inspectors testified to finding letters addressed to defendant in a dresser drawer in the house and also a quantity of men’s clothing. One officer further testified that when they left the house for the Sacramento office, 'defendant took some of the clothing with him and told the' officers that the clothes were his. A chemist testifying on behalf of the People stated that the white powder was cocaine and that the brown capsule contained heroin.