People v. WANDICK

Opinion

HULL, J.

A jury convicted Eddie Lee Wandick of possession of cocaine base (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a)). He was sentenced to three years in state prison.

On appeal from the judgment, defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in making certain in limine rulings, which prevented him from fully presenting his defense; (2) there was insufficient evidence that the amount of cocaine base in his possession was a usable quantity; and (3) the trial court violated Proposition 36 by failing to place him on probation. We affirm the judgment.

[133]

Facts and Proceedings

On July 8, 2001, Sacramento police took the intoxicated defendant into custody following a fight with his brother. Officers Gullion and Halstead escorted defendant into the booking area of the county jail where Officer Hidalgo conducted a search. The search was recorded by a surveillance camera, and the videotape was played for the jury.

At the beginning of the search, defendant repeatedly requested that he be allowed to take the shoelaces out of his shoes; each time the request was refused. When defendant removed his left shoe, a piece of paper fell to the floor. Officer Hidalgo testified that he saw the paper fall out of defendant’s shoe although the videotape is inconclusive on this point.

Hidalgo picked up the paper and handed it to Officer Halstead. Halstead opened the paper and observed a dry, chalk-like substance on it. The substance was the size of half a peanut and weighed .3 gram. Halstead and Gullion performed a “[Vjaltox” test on it, which is a presumptive test to determine the presence of narcotics. The test was positive for a central nervous system stimulant and cocaine base.

The paper was then sent to the police crime laboratory for analysis. The laboratory performed a presumptive test, followed by a confirmatory test. The item was found to contain cocaine base, which is a solid, pure form of cocaine; the net weight of the drug was .01 gram.

Defendant, who represented himself at trial, maintained that he did not bring contraband into the jail. While freely admitting that he smoked cocaine, he told the jury: “I stay in the misdemeanor’s ring. Misdemeanors only. I’m not going back to prison for a felony for no reason.” He suggested that the paper became stuck to his shoe during the search, an inference which he supported by eliciting an admission from Officer Hidalgo that the inmate search area is not routinely cleaned after each booking.