People v. Farmer

LILLIE, J. Defendant was found guilty of possession of heroin (§11500, Health & Saf. Code) ; he appeals from the judgment.

On April 22, 1967, around 9 :20 a.m., Officer Nelson, traveling in a police car, observed a vehicle leave a boulevard stop at about 10 miles per hour going in the opposite direction; the passenger (defendant) fit the description of a burglary suspect. He turned around and followed the vehicle which accelerated to 40 miles per hour according to the speedometer of the police car; the speed limit was 25 miles per hour. The other vehicle stopped and defendant got out; there was a brief conversation between defendant and the driver, codefendant Spruill. The officer had stopped directly behind Spruill and turned on the red lights of the police car; he watched defendant hurriedly walk south, drop a shiny silvery object about 75 feet south of the intersection and continue walking. Spruill then made a right turn and stopped 100 feet south, the police car following; when Spruill reached the curb after his right [502]turn and stopped, defendant had reached a point from 25 to 30 feet ahead of the cars. Officer Nelson got out of his car as did Spruill; they approached each other and the officer told Spruill he was driving too fast; he observed that the pupils of Spruill’s eyes were contracted to the point where the blacks of the eyes were almost invisible and that he was very tranquil, almost stuporous. Experienced in narcotic work, Officer Nelson formed the opinion that Spruill was under the influence of an opiate. During this time defendant continued to walk and the officer asked Spruill where defendant was going and to call him back to the car, which he did; he also asked Spruill about his condition and the marks on his arms.

Defendant, who had returned to the vehicle, was very sweaty and the pupils of his eyes were dilated; Officer Nelson asked him if he was using heroin and defendant rolled up his sleeves saying, “I will show you”; there were marks on both arms similar to those the officer had observed on Spruill. Another officer was called to assist in the arrest; after his arrival and defendant’s arrest, Officer Nelson went to the spot where he had observed defendant drop a shiny silvery object; he observed on the edge of the sidewalk in front of a vacant lot a package made of tinfoil which was shiny and silvery in appearance. Next to it lay a cellophane package. Both objects were dry despite the fact that the area was somewhat moist from a recent rainfall. The officer picked up the tinfoil and inside was a .26 gauge hypodermic needle and eyedropper; inside the cellophane bag were five balloons of various colors containing heroin.