People v. Cole CA2/6

Filed 9/29/15 P. v. Cole CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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. B261276 (Super. Ct. No. 2014020328) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

THEODORE ALBERT COLE,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found Theodore Albert Cole guilty of possession of methamphetamine for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11378) and simple possession of cocaine (id. § 11350, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced Cole to two years in county jail followed by one year of mandatory supervision. We affirm. FACTS Ventura County Sheriff's Detective Eric Arteaga regularly searches Craigslist for people selling drugs. He discovered an advertisement posted by Annie Rossi that appeared to be promising. Arteaga responded to Rossi's advertisement, and she agreed to meet to sell him six grams of methamphetamine. Arteaga arranged to have an informant make a "controlled buy" from Rossi in a Del Taco parking lot. The informant wore a wireless transmitting device to record conversations with Rossi. Arteaga and Detective Robert Davidson were the surveillance team to monitor the purchase.

Rossi drove into the parking lot in a Prius. She told the informant, "My guy [is] just gonna meet us here." She said he would be driving a truck. Numerous times during the conversation Rossi referred to "my guy," and assured the informant he would be there any minute. Eventually, Rossi concluded that her guy would not be coming. She told the informant to go to Thousand Oaks, and she would pick up the methamphetamine and bring it to him. As the informant and the surveillance team were leaving the Del Taco parking lot, Rossi called to say her guy was here and to meet her in the Target parking lot. They drove to the Target parking lot. Rossi parked her Prius in the Target parking lot. She walked to a pickup truck also parked in the lot. Cole was in the driver's seat of the pickup. Rossi went to the driver's side window, placed her left hand inside the driver's side window for approximately 10 seconds, and returned to the Prius with her left hand clenched. At the Prius, Rossi placed her left hand inside the driver's side. She was walking back to the pickup truck when the surveillance team arrested Rossi and Cole. Detective Davidson searched the Prius and pickup truck. In the Prius on the driver's side floorboard Davidson found a prescription bottle containing 6.2 grams of methamphetamine. In the pickup truck Davidson found cocaine in a silver-colored container and also 0.1 gram of loose methamphetamine. Telephone records show calls between Rossi and Cole at the times Rossi was communicating with her guy about the drug deal. Both Arteaga and Davidson testified that 6.2 grams is a quantity that indicates possession for sale, and that the small amount of loose methamphetamine found in the pickup indicates possession for personal use. Cole did not present an affirmative defense, but relied on the state of the evidence.