People v. Sanchez

SHEPARD, J.

This is an appeal by defendant Joseph Lopez Sanchez from a judgment of conviction of violation of Penal Code section 182 (conspiracy to furnish narcotic, marijuana, to a minor) and violation of Health and Safety Code section 11530 (possession of marijuana). Codefendants Richard Lee Swanson, Antonio Macias Meza and Tom Miranda

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Moreno, Jr., have not appealed. The appeal of codefendant Fred Alex Rivera was heretofore dismissed.

Facts

By Count I of the indictment, defendant was charged with having conspired with the other codefendants to wilfully and unlawfully furnish and give a narcotic (marijuana) to two minors named Doris Mabbitt and Bonnie Fordham. Eleven overt acts were charged, including meeting with the minors March 26, 1960, taking the minors on March 27, 1960, to Rivera’s home and to Lake Matthews and then and there making marijuana cigarettes and giving same to said minors and all smoking same, taking the minors again to Rivera’s home. By Count IV of the indictment, defendant was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Counts II, III, V and VI of the indictment each charged possession against one of the other defendants.

The record shows the events substantially as follows: On March 26, 1960, the two minor girls, age 14 and 16, were “picked up” by codefendants Swanson and Rivera at the Riverside Bus Depot. The four drove into the hills and drank beer. Early next morning, March 27, Swanson took the girls home. On the afternoon of March 27, the minors riding with Swanson again, met with all defendants and all except Rivera drove to Lake Matthews in Moreno’s car. There Sanchez obtained a paper bag containing a substance that looked like finely chopped grass and also little round balls or seeds. The defendants variously referred to it as “weed,” “pot,” “pot and seed.” Sanchez told Bonnie he was going to tell about her smoking marijuana. Sanchez and Meza rolled cigarettes from this substance, lit one and passed it around; all smoked these cigarettes. Both girls were induced to smoke the cigarettes. The cigarettes smelled like garbage, old rags or trash burning. When they had smoked, the girls described their feelings by the terminology “high,” “dizzy,” “funny,” “not right,” “real funny,” “like I want to fly,” “I just felt good.” They said the smell was different from ordinary cigarettes. (Both had smoked tobacco cigarettes before.)