People v. Davis

FILES, P. J.

Appellant was charged by information with driving a motor vehicle on a public highway while under the influence of a narcotic drug (Veh. Code, §23105). After a plea of not guilty and waiver of a jury trial, the cause was submitted on the preliminary transcript and some additional testimony. Appellant was found guilty as charged, his motion for a new trial was denied, and proceedings were suspended so that a petition for civil commitment for addiction could be filed under section 3051 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Appellant appeals from the order denying his motion for a new trial, which order was appealable under Penal Code

[198]

section 1237, subdivision 2, as it read prior to the 1968 amendments.

At 10:15 p.m. on May 17, 1967, Officer Wayne L. Greear, of the Long Beach Police Department, was on routine patrol in a marked police vehicle when he saw an automobile come to a halt at the end of a dead-end street approximately one block away. Both front doors opened, and two males alighted, leaving both doors open. Appellant left from the driver’s side and walked “briskly” to the west. The other occupant went north across a vacant lot. As Officer Greear stopped his vehicle, he noticed both persons glance “furtively” at the police car and continue their rapid departure from the area. Greear’s partner, Officer Brown, pursued appellant’s companion, who started to run. Officer Greear went after appellant, who returned after he was told to halt. Greear testified that the hasty departure from the vehicle, coupled with the fact that the doors were left open and appellant’s companion started to run, aroused his suspicion and he began to question appellant.

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Although the area was only dimly lit, appellant’s pupils were constricted. Thinking that he might be under the influence of an opiate, the officer returned appellant to the police car and examined his eyes with a flashlight. The pupils of appellant’s eyes showed virtually no reaction when the light was shone upon them. When he examined appellant’s arms, the officer found several nonprofessional needle punctures, from two to ten days old. One puncture was of recent origin, possibly only three or four hours old. As the result of this, Officer Greear formed the opinion that appellant was under the influence of an opiate. It was stipulated that Officer Greear was a narcotics expert.