People v. Myles

Opinion

SHOEMAKER, P. J.

Defendant Shirley Myles was charged by information with possession of a concealable firearm by a felon. Defendant moved to set aside the information pursuant to Penal Code, section 995, and the court granted the motion. The People appeal from the order setting aside the information.

The facts are without dispute. At 1 a.m. on August 21, 1968, Officers O’Sullivan and Damon of the San Francisco Police Department had occasion to drive past a hotel located at 320 Valencia Street. The two officers were wearing plain clothes and were driving an unmarked car. The officers noticed a 1956 Cadillac parked near the hotel and also noticed that the passenger seat of the vehicle was occupied by a man. As the officers drove past, the man crouched down in his seat as though he were trying to avoid being seen. The officers backed up, parked behind the Cadillac and activated the red lights in the police vehicle.

The officers then approached the man in the Cadillac and identified themselves as police. They asked the man why he had slid down in his seat as they approached and also asked him if he had recognized them as police officers. He answered the latter question in the affirmative. They then asked him his name, and he answered by giving them two different names. He seemed incoherent and continually looked in the direction of the hotel.

After Damon had radioed for a records check and had ascertained that there were no warrants outstanding under either name which the man had

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given, the officers asked the man if he owned the Cadillac. Pie replied that he did not. When he was asked who did own the car, he stated that he didn’t know the name of the owner but that he had gone into the hotel. The officers checked the registration on the Cadillac and found that it was registered to Mr. Shirley Myles, the defendant.

While Damon remained with the man in the Cadillac, O’Sullivan entered the hotel and ascertained that defendant Myles was registered at the hotel. He returned and told this fact to Damon. The man in the Cadillac, who overheard O’Sullivan’s remarks, responded by jumping from the car and running from the scene. The officers did not pursue him, but instead decided to check on defendant Myles.