People v. Aguilar

240 Cal. App. 2d 502, 49 Cal. Rptr. 584, 1966 Cal. App. LEXIS 1376
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 1, 1966
DocketCrim. 11135
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 240 Cal. App. 2d 502 (People v. Aguilar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Aguilar, 240 Cal. App. 2d 502, 49 Cal. Rptr. 584, 1966 Cal. App. LEXIS 1376 (Cal. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

Defendant was charged with possession of narcotics for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11500.5). Trial hy *504 jury was waived, and the case was submitted on the transcript of the preliminary examination. He was found guilty, a motion for new trial was made and denied, probation was denied, and a sentence of imprisonment in state prison was imposed. He has appealed.

The only issues raised on appeal, or in the trial court, relate to the validity of the search warrant used to secure evidence against defendant and to the conduct of the officers in connection with the execution of that warrant. These points were duly raised by a traverse to the warrant and by objections made at the preliminary examination, 1 and they were renewed thereafter at the subsequent stages of the ease. It is not questioned that they are properly before us on this appeal.

On October 14, 1964, Officer Cook, a sergeant in the Sheriff’s Department of Los Angeles County, presented to a magistrate an affidavit for a search warrant and, on that date, the magistrate issued a warrant for the search of certain described premises, a described automobile, and of defendant’s person. 2 The warrant expressly authorized service ‘‘ at any time of the day or night.” The warrant was served at about 7:50 p.m. on the same day (admittedly “at night”). As defendant was about to enter his automobile (the same vehicle as that described in the affidavit and in the warrant), he was arrested and searched, the search disclosing his possession, on his person, of a hypodermic needle and a package of condoms containing heroin. Defendant was then advised of the existence of the search warrant, the premises described therein were searched, resulting in the discovery of more heroin, milk sugar, and other narcotic paraphernalia.

It is not here contended that the evidence so discovered, if lawfully obtained, was insufficient to support the finding of possession for sale. As above indicated, the appeal is based solely on the claim that the warrant was void and that the arrest of defendant was without probable cause.

*505 I

We think that the objection to the manner of arrest of defendant is without merit. The contention is that the arrest was not justified by the warrant, since the warrant authorized only search and not arrest, and that there was insufficient probable cause to justify an arrest without warrant.

Even if this contention were sound it would not avail defendant. The search of his home (which, as later discussed, we find to have been lawful) produced more than enough evidence to support the conviction; the articles found on defendant’s person added nothing of significance to the ease against him.

However, we think that there was no error. The warrant did authorize a search of defendant’s person. Since it is an obvious impossibility to search the person of an individual without first taking him into custody, the warrant impliedly authorized an arrest as a step in the authorized search. And it is the product of the search which was used against defendant and of which he complains. The search being lawful, the evidence thereby obtained was admissible.

The Attorney General argues that the arrest of defendant was a lawful nonwarrant arrest, based on information possessed by the officers which amounted to reasonable cause to believe defendant guilty of a narcotic offense. Athough, as we discuss below, the information known to the officers and set forth in the affidavit was sufficient to support the warrant, it is settled that more information is necessary to justify a nonwarrant arrest than is required to sustain a magisterial decision to issue a warrant. 3 Clearly, without the informant’s data, the officers lacked reasonable grounds. Since, for reasons discussed in the next paragraph, the informant’s data cannot here be considered on the issue of reasonable cause for a non-warrant arrest, we need not decide whether or not the data, including that information, was sufficient, lacking the magistrate’s imprimatur.

While the name of an informant need not be disclosed *506 to a magistrate in connection with an application for a search warrant, unless the magistrate requests it, 4 it is, of course, now well settled that, where an officer relies on data from an informant to show probable cause for a nonwarrant arrest, the name of the informant must, on timely demand, be disclosed, on penalty of having the informant’s data stricken and disregarded. (Priestly v. Superior Court (1958) 50 Cal.2d 812 [330 P.2d 39].) Here, defendant duly demanded the name of the informant at the preliminary examination and the demand was peremptorily refused; the point was followed up by a motion to strike, made in the superior court. At no stage of the proceedings was the name of the informant 'divulged. For lack of disclosure, the informant’s data cannot be relied on to show probable cause. As we said above, without that data, the other information was insufficient.

Since the evidence disclosed by the search of his person showed that the commission of the crime of possession of heroin, in violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code, was then being committed in the officers’ presence, the detention of defendant thereafter was clearly lawful.

II

We turn, then, to the principal points urged by defendant: (a) that the search warrant was voi'd because not based on a sufficient affidavit; and (b) that (assuming the validity of the warrant as such) the authorization therein contained for service at night was void because “good cause” for such action did not appear on the face of the affidavit, as section 1533 of the Penal Code requires.

The latter contention is now determined, adversely to defendant, by the recent decision of the Supreme Court in Solis v. Superior Court (1966) 63 Cal.2d 774 [48 Cal.Rptr. 169, 408 P.2d 945). In the Solis ease, a warrant had authorized search at night, although based on an affidavit which was entirely silent as to any nighttime activity of defendant and which did not pray for the special permission. The Supreme Court held that the affidavit, nevertheless, was sufficient to show “good cause” for a night search. The court said at page 776: “It is common knowledge, at least to those engaged in law enforcement, that heroin is the most dangerous of the illicit drugs; that heroin pushers are among the most dangerous of drug peddlers; and that heroin pushers are as active at night as during the day and probably more so.

“Accordingly, in view of the nature of the contraband, the *507 affidavit shows good cause for issuance of a warrant that could be served during either the daytime or the nighttime, and in issuing such a warrant the magistrate did not abuse his discretion.” In the ease at bench, as in Solis,

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Bluebook (online)
240 Cal. App. 2d 502, 49 Cal. Rptr. 584, 1966 Cal. App. LEXIS 1376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-aguilar-calctapp-1966.