People v. Rodriguez

SHINN, P. J.

Guadalupe Rodriguez, Rudolph Chavez Esquivel and James Belmont Bookout were jointly accused of possessing heroin and in a court trial they were found guilty as charged in the information. Allegations that Esquivel had suffered two prior felony convictions for narcotics violations were found to be true; an allegation that he had previously been convicted of grand theft was found not to be true. Rodriguez and Esquivel who were sentenced to state prison appeal from the judgments; the latter has noticed an appeal from the denial of his new trial motion; he made no motion for new trial.

The evidence consisted of that received at the preliminary hearing and additional evidence introduced at the trial. Having learned from an informant whose name he did not recall that two or three persons were driving through Huntington Park, Bell and South Gate and stopping in gas station restrooms to take narcotics, Deputy Sheriff Vacio gave this information to the Huntington Park Police Department and it was passed on to Officers Cracken and Chesley at a briefing on August 27, 1958. That afternoon, Cracken observed the car described in the briefing in the parking lot of a Richfield gas station and contacted Chesley by police radio. The latter drove to the station. It had two coin-operated restrooms. The officers obtained from the gas station attendant a master key and permission to enter the rooms. When the officers approached the men’s room the attendant said that it was out of order and that there were three men in the ladies’ room. The officers knocked on the door and opened it partially, using the key. A man called out: “We are using this restroom” and forced the door shut. The officers pushed the door open and entered. The room had dimensions of 4 feet by 6 feet. The three occupants were ordered to come out with their hands up. As Rodriguez and Esquivel left the room, Bookout dropped an eyedropper into the wash basin. The officers placed them under arrest and searched the room. They found

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capsules which were proved to contain heroin. Appellants and their co-defendant Bookout did not testify.

It is first contended that the heroin was obtained by means of an unlawful search and seizure. Appellants argue that they were lessees of the restroom, having paid for admittance by placing a coin in a mechanical box, and that forcible entry by the officers was in violation of their constitutional right to privacy. We cannot agree.