People v. Aldapa

Opinion

STEPHENS, Acting P. J.

By information, defendant was charged with possession of heroin for sale, a felony, in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11500.5. A prior felony conviction for violation of Health and Safety Code section 11500 was also alleged. Defendant’s motions under Penal Code sections 995 and 1538.5 were denied, as were his motions to disclose the identity of the informants and to strike testimony. Defendant pleaded not guilty, denied the prior, and waived trial by jury. He was found guilty as charged, the allegation of his prior conviction was found to be true, and he was sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law. He appeals from the judgment.

In May 1968 and up to the date of defendant’s arrest, Los Angeles Police Officer Cody of the Narcotics Division received information from three untested informants and from one reliable informant who had informed on four other occasions, as well as from two Los Angeles City police officers, to the effect that defendant and his wife were selling narcotics at 3622 City Terrace Drive, which was located outside the City, but within the County, of Los Angeles, in the section of “East Los Angeles”; that, to forewarn him, defendant had dogs on the premises that would bark upon anyone’s approach. Acting on this information (and knowing that the location was not within city police authority in the absence of the county sheriff’s consent), Officer Cody and other city police officers conducted surveillances of the premises, each lasting for varying periods up to 30 minutes, which revealed that some six to eight people entered and left the premises within that time. On August 13, 1968, the last day

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of the surveillance and the date of the arrest, Officer Cody observed defendant, his wife and another male companion arrive and enter the premises. Shortly thereafter, he observed the male companion emerge from the house carrying two bags or packages, get into a vehicle, and drive away. At this time, Officer Cody and three other officers positioned themselves at the front of the house and the remaining three officers, in the rear. Their purpose was to arrest defendant. As the officers approached the front of the house, the two dogs began to bark at them, and the door was opened by an unknown individual. Officer Cody identified himself to this person by stating, “Police Officers, this is a narcotic investigation,” or “this is a narcotic arrest.” Officer Cody then heard what sounded to him like running footsteps' from within the house. He went through the front door, and found himself in an “anteroom.” He then proceeded through the anteroom into another room, where he saw defendant going towards the kitchen. The officer yelled at defendant, who thereupon stopped, and defendant was arrested. Officer Cody examined a bag which defendant had placed on the table when he stopped, and found that it contained a substance resembling heroin. The police officers had neither a search warrant nor a warrant for defendant’s arrest.