People v. Coblentz

229 Cal. App. 2d 296, 40 Cal. Rptr. 116, 1964 Cal. App. LEXIS 986
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 19, 1964
DocketCrim. 8913
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 229 Cal. App. 2d 296 (People v. Coblentz) 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. Coblentz, 229 Cal. App. 2d 296, 40 Cal. Rptr. 116, 1964 Cal. App. LEXIS 986 (Cal. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

FILES, J.

This is a prosecution for possession of heroin for sale, in violation of Health and Safety Code, section *298 11500.5. Defendant personally and by Ms attorney waived a jury trial. It was then stipulated that the ease be submitted to the trial court upon the transcript of the preliminary hearing. No evidence was offered on behalf of the defendant, either at the preliminary or at the trial. The court found defendant guilty. He has appealed from the judgment and has attempted to appeal from the order denying his motion for a new trial, which is a nonappealable order. (Pen. Code, § 1237.)

The sole point argued by defendant on tMs appeal is that the People’s case is based upon an illegal search. The Attorney General points out that defendant did not object to the admission of any of the evidence received against Mm at the trial. The deputy public defender who represented defendant at the preliminary hearing did make timely objections based upon the claimed illegality of the search, which objections were overruled by the magistrate. The attorney chosen by defendant to represent Mm at the trial stipulated that all this evidence be received, without any exception or reservation or objection. This stipulation constituted a waiver of any objection which defendant might have had, and eliminated any basis for claiming on appeal that the trial court committed error. (People v. Richardson, 51 Cal.2d 445, 447 [334 P.2d 573]; People v. Dessauer, 38 Cal.2d 547, 552 [241 P.2d 238]; People v. Brittain, 149 Cal.App.2d 201, 203 [308 P.2d 38].)

Defendant requested and this court allowed an augmentation of the record to show that after the case was submitted in the trial court, defendant’s trial counsel made an oral argument that the search was illegal. It thus appears that defendant did not intend to waive his objection in the trial court, but that his counsel overlooked making it at the proper time. Evidently the trial court considered and passed upon the legality of the search. Since the issue is an important one, this court will consider it on its merits.

The circumstances leading to the discovery of the heroin are related in the testimony of Los Angeles Police Officer Wesley, who was stipulated to be an expert on the use of narcotics and the paraphernalia used in the administration of narcotics. Officer Wesley and his partner had been investigating defendant for approximately two weeks. The record does not indicate what, if anything, they had learned before the day of arrest except that defendant had prior convictions for possession of heroin and for sale of heroin. On August 9, 1962, the day of the arrest, the officers learned that defendant *299 was living with a woman named Gareia in a small hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The officers knew that Mrs. Garcia’s record included several narcotics convictions. About 8:30 p. m. that day the officers went to the hotel. They recognized Mrs. Garcia seated in the lobby. They asked her name and she told them. They observed that her left forearm, which was exposed, showed numerous needle puncture marks. They asked her if she was using narcotics and she replied, “Not very much. ’ ’ She handed her purse to one of the officers and said, “Search it.” The purse was searched, with negative results. She was asked if she had narcotics in her room. She said she was living in Boom 9 and that the officers “may go ahead and search the room.”

The officers then made inquiry at the hotel desk, where they were shown a registration card indicating that Mr. and Mrs. Paul Suarez had registered in Boom 9 on August 8. The officers were aware that “ Suarez” is defendant’s middle name. Officer Wesley asked the room clerk if Mrs. Gareia and “Paul Suarez” had both registered at the same time as man and wife, and the clerk said “Yes.” Mrs. Garcia then gave the officers her key, and the group proceeded to the room.

In the top dresser drawer the officers found a plastic bag containing an eyedropper and a hypodermic needle, another plastic bag which contained some measuring spoons, a can of milk sugar, a plastic bag containing some multicolored balloons and a funnel.

The officers asked Mrs. Garcia about these things and she replied: “That’s all you’ll find. You won’t find any junk.” Officer Wesley asked about the milk sugar and she responded, “I use that for myself. I like to sweeten myself.”

About this time there was a knock on the door. The officers opened it and recognized defendant. Officer Wesley asked his name and he stated, “Paul Coblen[t]z.” The officer asked him where he lived and he replied, “In this room.” Thereupon the officers arrested defendant and searched him. Under his clothing were two containers of white powder. Subsequent laboratory analysis established that this powder was heroin, weighing 17 grams.

After defendant had been taken to the police building he had a conversation, freely and voluntarily, with the officers in which he said among other things: “You have got me cold. ... I get the stuff without putting any money out and then I give it to different people around town in order to let them sample it and I can thereby get more customers from [sic] *300 my supplier.” He stated that he intended to get rid of most of it in the area of Second and Hill, where he had once before been arrested for the sale of narcotics.

Officer Wesley further testified regarding the use of the items found in defendant’s room before the arrest: The Number 26 hypodermic needle and the eyedropper are the means by which narcotic users inject the narcotic into the veins. The small wires, found with the needle, are used to clean the needle. The balloons found in another package are normally used by people who sell narcotics. The practice is to dilute the heroin by mixing it with milk sugar. The mixture is then packaged in balloons for delivery to the customers. The small funnel which was found in the drawer with the milk sugar and the balloons is used to facilitate pouring the powder into the balloons.

One of the two spoons found in the drawer is a quarter-teaspoon. That size is used for measuring. The other spoon is a teaspoon and it is blackened on the bottom. This spoon is used for cooking the heroin with water by holding the spoon over a lighted match.

Defendant does not argue the propriety of the officers ’ accepting Mrs. Garcia’s invitation to search the room. She appeared to be a cooccupant of the premises, and the record indicates that her consent was genuine. This evidence establishes the legality of the search by which the paraphernalia in the dresser was found. (People v. Gorg, 45 Cal.2d 776, 783 [291 P.2d 469].) Knowing the kind of paraphernalia which was kept in the room, and knowing the defendant’s history of narcotics violations, the officers had reasonable cause to arrest defendant when he appeared in the doorway and stated that he lived in that room.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Superior Court
274 Cal. App. 2d 7 (California Court of Appeal, 1969)
People v. De La Torre
268 Cal. App. 2d 122 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
People v. Duarte
254 Cal. App. 2d 25 (California Court of Appeal, 1967)
People v. Black
241 Cal. App. 2d 602 (California Court of Appeal, 1966)
People v. Murillo
241 Cal. App. 2d 173 (California Court of Appeal, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
229 Cal. App. 2d 296, 40 Cal. Rptr. 116, 1964 Cal. App. LEXIS 986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-coblentz-calctapp-1964.