People v. Chavez

DRAPER, J.

A jury found appellant guilty of selling or furnishing marijuana on five dates between February 26 and April 10, 1959. He was sentenced to prison, and appeals from the judgment and the order denying his motion for new trial.

He first contends that the evidence establishes, as a matter of law, his claimed defense of entrapment.

Appellant had served a term in state prison for possession of heroin, the last three years in the medical facility at Vacaville where he had been treated for narcotics addiction. He was paroled in September, 1958. One Salinas,

[743]

a paid informant employed by the police about February 19, 1959, had met appellant early in that month. About a week before February 26 he told appellant that he (Salinas) was about to receive a quantity of marijuana from Texas. On two or three other occasions, he mentioned marijuana generally, without seeking to purchase any. On each of these occasions, appellant said that he was a parolee and did not want to know anything about narcotics. On February 26 Salinas for the first time asked appellant to sell him marijuana cigarettes, and appellant promptly did so. Another sale was made March 6, again at the instance of Salinas. On March 28, April 3 and April 10 appellant offered to furnish marijuana to Salinas, without request by the latter, and did so. It is entirely clear that this evidence falls far short of establishing entrapment as a matter of law

(People

v.

Benford,

53 Cal.2d 1 [345 P.2d 928]).

The issue of entrapment was submitted to the jury, which found against appellant. If it may reasonably be inferred that defendant had a preexisting criminal intent, the mere fact that he committed a crime when solicited by a decoy does not establish entrapment

(People

v.

Nunn,

46 Cal.2d 460, 471 [296 P.2d 813] ;