People v. Conti

ROTH, P. J. Appellant was charged by information in four counts with violations of Penal Code, section 337a, subdivisions 1-4, book-making. He waived jury trial. The court found him guilty as charged in count I (§ 337a, subd. 1, book-making and pool-selling); count II, (§ 337a, subd. 2, keeping and occupying premises for book-making and pool-selling); and count III (§ 337a, subd. 3), (receiving, holding and forwarding money in book-making, pool-selling.) He was found not guilty on count IV (§ 337a, subd. 4, recording and registering bets.)

Appellant was sentenced to county jail for 180 days on the [735]three counts, sentences to run concurrently. The sentence was suspended. Appellant was placed on probation for one year, and as a condition of probation, was required to pay a fine of $250.

The sole point raised and argued is the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdicts.

At approximately 1 p.m. on January 7, 1965, Officers Knieriem and MacKenzie of the Los Angeles Police Department Central Vice Unit and Glen Groves, a special agent for the Department of Water and Power, arrived at the Department of Water and Power shops on North Main Street to investigate alleged book-malting activity.

The three men, dressed in plain clothes, staked out the blacksmith shop for about two hours. Officer Knieriem testified he observed numerous people going in and out of the shop, and a number of people reading race sections of racing publications in the general vicinity. Knieriem saw Bulas Klines1 seated outside the blacksmith shop reading the National Daily Reporter (a racing publication) and observed money and small slips of paper pass between Klines and persons who talked to him. He did not see appellant or Apodaca on this date, and left when Klines went into the blacksmith shop.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., on January 8, Officer Knieriem returned. He observed Klines sitting outside the blacksmith shop and passing the National Daily Reporter to various persons who made notations on slips of paper and handed them to Klines with money.

Just before noon, Klines entered the shop. Officer Knieriem went into the room adjoining the blacksmith shop from which he could see into the room Klines had entered. He saw appellant and Apodaca playing cards and another man reading the racing section of the Herald-Bxaminer. Right after the noon whistle sounded, the unnamed man handed some money and a slip of paper to appellant. Appellant took some bills out of his pocket and added this money to it; he gave Apodaca the slip of paper, which Apodaca put in a cigar box in a storage cabinet.