People v. James

17 Cal.App.3d 463 (1971) 95 Cal. Rptr. 121 THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

CHARLES EDWARD JAMES, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. 18618. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division One.

May 12, 1971. [465] COUNSEL

Terry M. Shagin, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Evelle J. Younger, Attorney General, William E. James, Assistant Attorney General, and Ellen B. Friedman, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

LILLIE, J.

Defendant and Virgil Smith were charged with possession of a shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches (§ 12020, Pen. Code). Motions under sections 1538.5 and 995, Penal Code, were denied. The cause was submitted for trial on the transcript of the testimony taken at the preliminary hearing, and defendant was found guilty as charged. He appeals from orders denying his motions. Since the orders are not separately appealable (§ 1237.5, Pen. Code), we treat the notice of appeal as one from the judgment which permits review of such orders. (See People v. Jasso, 2 Cal. App.3d 955, 962 [82 Cal. Rptr. 229].)

On October 19, 1969, Officers Saitman and his partner, in uniform and in a black and white police vehicle, responded to a "Silent Burglar Alarm" at 1807 East 103d Street. While there Officer Saitman noticed that across the street the front door of 1810 East 103d Street, the Black Panther headquarters, was open. Through the open door he saw defendant who the officers believed matched the description of a suspect wanted for the shooting of a police officer the night before; the description he had received was of a male Negro, approximately 19 to 20 years old, 5' 8" to 5' 10", wearing a green Army type jacket and Russian Cossack type hat. Officer Saitman had been one of those who responded to the original shooting call the night before. 1810 East 103d Street (Black Panther headquarters) was thus described by the officer: "the whole block is all business buildings. 1810 is just a normal type business building, has a front door leading to the sidewalk. The door was open." Inside the building was a small room 10 by 15 feet with a partition leading to a larger back room.