People v. Lepur

GRIFFIN, P. J.

Defendant appeals from a conviction of possession of a narcotic in violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code after trial before a jury. Defendant was charged with and admitted a prior misdemeanor conviction of possession of a narcotic.

On November 30, 1958, several police officers went to defendant’s place of residence armed with a search warrant and entered. Defendant was found sitting in the bedroom in the presence of three other persons, Tellez, Santosuosso and Camacho. A search of the room discovered two stained and sooty spoons which contained a residue of heroin, two hypodermic needles and an eyedropper. These articles were wrapped in a cloth, held' together with a rubber band, and lying on a dresser. Several paper-covered packages of heroin were found on the premises, two of them immediately under a chair where defendant had been sitting when the police officers arrived. A search of defendant revealed no narcotics on his person but he had 22 needle puncture marks over a vein on his right arm. One of the police officers present at the time of the arrest stated that he thought defendant was slightly under the influence of a narcotic when arrested.

Robert L. Williams, a medical doctor, testified that he examined defendant on December 1, 1958, and found 22 needle marks in a vein on his right arm. These marks were between two days and two weeks old. The defendant admitted to Dr. Williams that he had been using narcotics and said he had received his last shot of a narcotic two days before the conversation.

Louis Camacho testified for the defense. He said that the narcotics and user’s kit found in defendant’s home were not the defendant’s property and that defendant did not know that Camacho had brought them there.

Camacho testified that he arrived in defendant’s home about 15 minutes before the police officers came in and that after the officers arrived, he surreptitiously tossed the narcotics packages under defendant’s chair. He testified that he previously left the narcotics kit on the dresser while combing his hair. On cross-examination Camacho admitted that he was under

[801]

the influence of narcotics when the officers entered the room, that he had recently been convicted of forging cheeks and that he had pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics arising out of this incident.