People v. Aguilar

JEFFERSON, J.

In case No. 277334 defendant was charged with possession of heroin for purposes of sale in violation of section 11500.5 of the Health and Safety Code. Four prior felony convictions were alleged. Defendant entered a plea of not guilty and denied the alleged prior convictions.

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He was convicted by the court after waiver of jury, the prior convictions were found to be true, and he was sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law. He appeals from the judgment.

In case No. 272147, defendant was charged with petty theft with a prior conviction of same, in violation of Penal Code section 667. Three prior felony convictions were alleged. Defendant pleaded not guilty, denied the alleged prior convictions and waived a jury trial. The matter was submitted on the transcript of the preliminary hearing. The court found defendant guilty as charged and the alleged prior convictions to be true. Probation was denied and defendant was sentenced to one year in the county jail, the sentence to run concurrently with the sentence in case No. 277334. Although defendant appeals from the judgment in case No. 272147 he raises no grounds of error in his brief on appeal. After examination of the record before us in case No. 272147, we conclude that defendant was properly convicted, and that the judgment should be affirmed. The remainder of this opinion relates to case No. 277334.

The case for the prosecution rested on the testimony of Police Officer Walter Burke. Officer Burke testified that he was experienced in the field of narcotics law enforcement. On July 20,1963, at approximately 6 :15 p.m. he, accompanied by two fellow police officers, went to a motel located at 9137 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles. The officers were told by the manager that a Mr. Bravo was living in Apartment 14. Officer Burke then went “around” to a window of Apartment 14. The window faced on Figueroa Street. Between the Figueroa Street sidewalk and the window was a row of bushes located directly in front of the window and approximately 6 to 8 inches from it. The row was not a formal hedge, but there were breaks between the several bushes. Burke stepped between these bushes, crouched down, and looked through the window into the apartment. Defendant and Ralph Bravo were inside. Defendant was in the process of looping a belt around his arm. On a nightstand next to where defendant was standing, the officer observed a needle, a spoon, an eyedropper and a small package which appeared to contain narcotics. Burke also observed that defendant had needle marks on his arms. From these observations the officer concluded that defendant was preparing to give himself an injection of narcotics.