People v. Parenti

KAUFMAN, P. J. Defendant, Paul L. Parenti, appeals from a judgment of conviction for the possession of marijuana on October 31,1961, in violation of section 11530 of the Health and Safety Code. The only contentions on this appeal are that the evidence does not support the judgment and that the judgment was obtained by perjured testimony. There is no merit in either of these contentions. After proper waiver of a trial by jury, appellant and his codefendant, Mike Valenti, were tried by the court.

Viewing the record most favorably to the judgment, it appears that on October 31, 1961, pursuant to a telephone call from a previously reliable informer, two inspectors of the Narcotic Bureau of the San Francisco Police Department went to room 403 of the Barclay Hotel in San Francisco. After one of the inspectors knocked on the door, the occupant, a woman, asked who it was and after a short exchange, the police officer identified himself. The occupant of the room asked them to wait until she was dressed. The officers heard the sound of movements in the room, including the sound of a toilet flushing and a window going up. A few minutes later, the door to the room was opened and the inspectors entered.

The appellant was standing on the far side of the room holding a Prince Albert tobacco can in his hand, which he was putting into his pocket. One of the officers approached the appellant and removed the tobacco can, which contained bulk marijuana as well as some “zig zag” paper used in the making of marijuana cigarettes. The officers also found a locker key on the person of the appellant. When questioned, [24]appellant indicated he had picked up the key from the table, as well as the can, just a few moments before the officers entered, after being asked to do so by the occupant of the room. Appellant first stated that the key belonged to him and fit his locker in the Greyhound Bus Depot in Oakland which contained his personal clothing. Subsequently, it was discovered that the key fit a locker in the Greyhound Bus Depot in San Francisco which contained a blue canvas bag in which were numerous bottles and vials of narcotics and drugs. However, as only the fingerprints of the codefendant, Mike Valenti, were found on the bottles in the blue canvas bag, the codeine charge based on this evidence was dismissed at the request of the district attorney.

Appellant’s first argument is that the above evidence is not sufficient to support his conviction for possession of marijuana.