People v. Farlow

Opinion

BROWN (Gerald), P. J.

The People appeal a judgment of dismissal (Pen. Code, § 1385) entered after Arthur David Farlow’s motion to suppress evidence was granted.

[416]

On July 2, 1974, at 2:40 p.m., Karen West was on a security team stationed at a checkpoint at the San Diego International Airport. It was her third day on the job. The team’s duty was to check all persons with carry-on luggage for weapons and bombs.

As Farlow approached the checkpoint, enroute to St. Louis, West asked him for the jacket he was carrying over his arm, in order that she might pat it down for weapons and bombs. Finding a hard lump inside a pocket of the jacket, she removed a crushproof Marlboro cigarette box. Feeling a slight bulge of the box, she looked inside for “a weapon of some kind, a derringer, maybe a bomb.” She saw a few cigarettes and an opaque plastic balloon containing a powder substance.

1

Not knowing what it was, but concerned, she called over her supervisor, Debbie Stoner, who took the balloon in hand, and, also being unable to identify its contents, asked the advice of harbor police patrolman, Gary Parks, one of the team standing nearby, whose training and experience included narcotics detection. Parks believed the balloon contained heroin or heroin derivatives, and arrested Farlow.

In its minute order granting the motion to suppress evidence, the trial court found West’s belief the cigarette box might contain a derringer to be reasonable. The court specifically held the search of both the jacket and the cigarette box to be authorized by

People

v.

Hyde,

12 Cal.3d 158 [115 Cal.Rptr. 358, 524 P.2d 830]. However, the court went on to say: “If Miss West had been able to identify the balloon as contraband the seizure would have been authorized. Officers need not be blind to contraband found incident to a valid search. However, the scope of the search allowed under the administrative search of People v. Hyde,

supra