People v. Davis

PIERCE, P. J.

Defendants Charles Davis and Anna Lee Edwards were found guilty, after a jury trial, of conspiracy (Pen. Code, § 182) to sell marijuana (Health & Saf. Code, § 11531) and defendant Davis was separately found guilty of the sale of marijuana. Davis has appealed from the judgment following said verdicts. Anna Edwards has not appealed.

A contention that the judgment is unsupported by substantial evidence is untenable.

On May 25, 1962, at approximately 1:55 a.m., Officer Jiminez, an undercover narcotics agent, received a telephone call at his motel room from a woman whose voice he recognized as that of defendant Anna Lee Edwards. She informed Jiminez that “Slim” (a nickname by which Davis was known to both) had marijuana for sale to him. Jiminez arranged to meet Anna “in front of Ike’s,” a bar, in 10 minutes. He kept the appointment. He was met by Anna. She told him he was being “checked.”

Defendant Davis joined the officer and Anna. Officer Jiminez ’s identification of Davis was positive. He had met him on several occasions before. The circumstances of these earlier meetings will be described below. Davis told Jiminez he had

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“twelve joints” (12 marijuana cigarettes) which he would sell to Jiminez for $12. The officer paid Davis $12 and received the marijuana. Anna reached over and took one of the cigarettes as her share for arranging the transaction.

The officer left, phoned and met Sergeant Clark, delivering the cigarettes to him. Laboratory tests established the cigarettes to be marijuana.

Davis was arrested some days later while accompanied by Jiminez. (They were returning from Marysville.) Davis, whose defense now is that it is a case of mistaken identity by Jiminez, then admitted the full marijuana transaction to the police. Anna, when apprehended, also admitted it. A tape recording was made of Davis' confession. It was played back to the jury. Part was unintelligible. It has not been transcribed as a part of the record. Davis, testifying on his own behalf, admitted on cross-examination it was his “voice” which the tape recording machine played back and there is tacit admission that his “voice” confessed the sale of marijuana to Jiminez. Davis testified he did not remember making the confession, but if he did make it it was because the officers had promised him they would release him after he had talked. The officers, denying any promises, testified that Davis’s statement was made voluntarily. This, as well as all other conflicts in the evidence, we must resolve in favor of the People on this appeal.