People v. Brunt

158 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 8, 205 Cal. Rptr. 144, 1984 Cal. App. LEXIS 2344
CourtAppellate Division of the Superior Court of California
DecidedMay 24, 1984
DocketCrim. A. No. 20517
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 158 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 8 (People v. Brunt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Brunt, 158 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 8, 205 Cal. Rptr. 144, 1984 Cal. App. LEXIS 2344 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

[Supp. 10]*Supp. 10Opinion

COOPERMAN, J.—

Statement of Case and Procedural History

On February 1, 1983, a misdemeanor complaint was filed against defendant charging him with violation, on or about January 25, 1983, of Health and Safety Code section 11364.7, subdivision (a), which proscribes the delivery, furnishing or transfer of drug paraphernalia, or the possession or manufacture with intent to deliver, furnish or transfer of drug paraphernalia.1

[Supp. 11]*Supp. 11On February 9, 1983, defendant filed a written demurrer to the complaint, under Penal Code section 1004, subdivision 4, on the ground that the facts set forth therein did not constitute a public offense in that Health and Safety Code section 11364.7 “. . . is unconstitutionally violative of due process, free speech, and equal protection” under the federal and state constitutions.

On the same date, defendant filed a motion for return of personal property seized by the People, from the Music Odyssey, 11910 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, of which defendant was manager, to suppress said personal property as evidence, under Penal Code section 1538.5, and to quash and traverse the search warrant previously issued and relating to the Music Odyssey.

On February 15, 1983, the trial court overruled defendant’s demurrer to the complaint.

On February 18, 1983, following a hearing, the trial court granted defendant’s suppression motion, ordered the case dismissed under Penal Code [Supp. 12]*Supp. 12section 1385,2 and ordered the personal property, which had been seized, returned to the legal owner thereof, Music Odyssey, Inc.

The People filed a timely notice of appeal on February 18, 1983, and, on February 24, 1983, obtained from this court an order staying the order for return of the personal property, pending appeal.

Statement of Facts

At the outset of the hearing on February 18, 1983, under the provisions of Penal Code section 1538.5, the People indicated that they would seek to justify the seizure of the purported drug paraphernalia, as a seizure of contraband in plain view, rather than under the search warrant that had theretofore been issued.3

In the foregoing context, the People offered the testimony of Officer James M. Steele of the Los Angeles Police Department in order to satisfy their burden as to the legality of the seizure.

In the course of qualifying Officer Steele as an expert witness, he testified that he had been a police officer for the City of Los Angeles for approximately seventeen and one-half years, and is presently assigned to the Narcotics Division, West Bureau; that he has been assigned to narcotics investigation for more than five years; that he has been qualified in the courts of this state as an expert in narcotics cases; that he has received training from the Los Angeles Police Department in the field of narcotics identification, usage, packaging, and shipping, and on the effects of narcotics on people who use them, and the ways that they are sold, legally and illegally; that he had taken courses in junior college on narcotics identification, and attended seminars conducted by the office of the district attorney, the sheriff’s office, and the Los Angeles Police Department on the subject of narcotics; that he had purchased narcotics in an undercover capacity for the Los Angeles Police Department; and had given classes at the Los Angeles Police Academy on narcotics, narcotics packaging and narcotics identification.

After stating that in the course of his experience he had had an opportunity to observe what is commonly referred to as drug paraphernalia, Officer Steele testified as follows:

“Q. Would you please relate to the court the various items that you consider to be drug paraphernalia?
[Supp. 13]*Supp. 13“A. Drug paraphernalia runs a wide varity [.sic] of different items that are used basically for cutting, or ingesting, or preparing narcotics for ingestion or injection.
“For instance, there are what they call tooters, or coke spoons, small spoons, with which a person would take a quantity of coke on the end, and place it to their nose, and ingest it through the nasal passages.
“Also, there are straws that are used for the same purpose.
“They come in any kind of varity [sic], or sizes, or thing the person wants to use or purchase.
“There is cut for narcotics, like Mannitol, Mannite ‘White Lady’, ‘Supercut’.
“We can get into different chemicals, like ether. It is used also with P.C.P., or it can be in freebasing of cocaine.
“You have different types of papers that your drugs are sold in, cocaine or heroin.
“Small papers or small seals.
“There are a varity [szc] of plastic baggies on the market that are zip-loc, which are commonly used to package drugs in.
“There is scales of different sizes that are used for drug use.
“Also, there is sifters or grinders that assist them in preparing the drugs for use and sales.
“There would be a varity [szc] of different pipes—they call them bongs— made out of anything—wood, glass, plastic—to ingest your marijuana, or hashish, and cocaine.”

Officer Steele further testified that on January 25, 1983, between 11 and 11:30 a.m., he and six other officers entered the Odyssey to serve a search warrant. The store was open for business, with customers present.

Officer Steele testified that he observed in the store numerous items which he described as “drug paraphernalia” offered for sale from open shelves and glass-enclosed cases, open to plain view, which items were seized. Prior to such seizure, Steele stated that 10 photographs were taken of the [Supp. 14]*Supp. 14cases and shelves . .to give everybody a good idea, or fair idea, of how everything was situated at the time we had entered into the Odyssey.”4

Steele also prepared a schematic diagram of the location of the 18 display cases and shelves in the Odyssey, which was received in evidence.

Following the seizure of the personal property involved in the case at bench, it was placed by the police in 13 lots (cardboard boxes), keyed to the store location (case or shelf) from which it was removed, as designated on the foregoing schematic diagram.

The personal property seized was also listed in a property report prepared by the police under DR #83-431705, which the parties stipulated set forth all of the personal property seized.

In essence, Officer Steele testified that the seizure occurred because defendant had committed a misdemeanor in his presence, namely violation of Health and Safety Code section 11364.7, subdivision (a), by offering items for sale which, in his expert opinion, were used, or intended to be used, with controlled substances. The People rested after the testimony of Officer Steele.5

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
158 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 8, 205 Cal. Rptr. 144, 1984 Cal. App. LEXIS 2344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-brunt-calappdeptsuper-1984.