People v. Thomas CA2/6

Filed 4/21/14 P. v. Thomas CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B250558 (Super. Ct. No. SA082183-01) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County)

v.

JONATHAN THOMAS,

Defendant and Appellant.

Jonathan Thomas appeals a judgment revoking his probation after the trial court conducted a probation revocation hearing and found that he possessed methamphetamine for sale. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11378.) We conclude, among other things, that the trial court's finding is supported by substantial evidence. We affirm. FACTS On February 11, 2013, Thomas pled no contest to transporting and selling a controlled substance. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11352, subd. (a).) The trial court "suspended" imposition of sentence and placed him on probation for three years. A probation condition required that he "not use or possess any narcotics, dangerous or restricted drugs or associated paraphernalia." Four months later Thomas was arrested for violating this probation condition. At the probation revocation hearing, Probation Officer Alfred Burruel testified that on the morning of June 6, 2013, probation officers entered the residence of

probationer Virgil Gulley, Jr. because his "G.P.S. monitoring bracelet" was "pinging." During a "protective sweep" of the residence, they saw Thomas sleeping on the floor in the bedroom of the home. Thomas was on probation with "search" conditions. Burruel said there was a duffle bag in a closet which had a "sliding" door, "five to six feet away from where Mr. Thomas was laying." The duffle bag "contained numerous plastic baggies" of "a white crystallized substance resembling methamphetamine." The size of the bedroom was "10 by 15" feet and it had one closet. A probation officer found a digital scale in a dresser drawer "five to seven feet away" from Thomas. Vamari Gulley (Gulley) was also in the bedroom. Gulley testified that he had lived at the residence since 1993. He shared the bedroom with Thomas who was his cousin. Thomas had been there for "a day" and he "doesn't usually stay" there. Gulley testified that he did not own the duffle bag or the digital scale. He said, "[A] lot of people come and go and stay at [the] house," but they do not "bring stuff to spend the night." Deputy Sheriff Michael Prottung testified that when he entered the bedroom, the duffle bag was on top of the dresser, and the dresser was inside the closet. In addition to the narcotics, the duffle bag also contained "items that were consistent with someone who is staying somewhere other than home." Prottung said the duffle bag contained "several pair of underwear, socks, T-shirt, hair care, cream, and a toothbrush." "[T]here was an outfit that would be basically for one day." Thomas told Prottung that he did "not live there." Thomas did not testify at the probation revocation hearing. His trial counsel argued that Gulley's testimony was "pretty self-serving," and "[Gulley] knows that he could be in trouble for narcotics and of course he's going to deny . . . that those drugs are his or he has any knowledge of the drugs or the scale." The trial court found Thomas had violated his probation conditions. It said Gulley "was credible" and the duffle bag did not belong to him. It said, "There's every reason to believe that this bag belongs to the defendant who's sleeping nearby. . . . The defendant is traveling. There's a bag that's typical of any person who travels near him." The court revoked probation and sentenced Thomas to three years in county jail.