People v. Trumpour

THE COURT. After a trial by the court sitting without a jury, jury trial having been duly waived, the defendant was found guilty of violation of section 11530 of the Health and Safety Code (possession of marijuana), a felony. The offense was alleged to have been committed on or about April 22, 1966. The trial commenced and was concluded on July 12, 1966. Probation was denied and the defendant was sentenced to state prison. The appeal is from the judgment of conviction.

The Facts

On April 22, 1966, William A. Harmon, a deputy sheriff of I/os Angeles County, had parked his marked sheriff’s vehicle [935]upon the grounds of the Norwalk Pligh School. He had received complaints from several members of the faculty of the high school concerning cars cruising in the vicinity of the school, and he had been asked by them to check on such activities. At about 12:01 p.m. he observed a dark blue 1964 model Corvette drive back and forth in front of the school four times. School was in session and each time the Corvette passed by in front of the school the driver gunned the motor. After the Corvette made the fourtli pass, Deputy Harmon left his position on the school grounds and followed it a short distance. He observed that the rear license plate of the vehicle was loosely attached, “It was loose to where it would jiggle on—jiggle on the license plate frames.” One corner of the plate was fastened by a screw and the other was fastened by a piece of wire.1 He was a little suspicious because the occupants of the vehicle were youthful in appearance and were riding in a late model expensive automobile. He was also of the opinion that the mufflers on the vehicle were in violation of the provisions of the Vehicle Code.2

Deputy Harmon stopped the vehicle. He asked for and received the identification of the driver of the vehicle (Roland Bruce Clendening, 17 years of age) and of the defendant. Clendening said that he had been picked up by the defendant and was driving the vehicle at the time it was stopped because the defendant had no driver’s license. Upon examination of the registration slip of the vehicle, produced by the defendant, Deputy Harmon discovered that the license numbers shown on such slip were at variance with the numbers shown on the license plates attached to the vehicle. The defendant-stated that the vehicle belonged to his aunt who lived in Placentia. Deputy Harmon then cheeked the car by means of [936]