People v. Freeny

37 Cal. App. 3d 20, 112 Cal. Rptr. 33, 1974 Cal. App. LEXIS 1117
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 30, 1974
DocketCrim. 23302
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 37 Cal. App. 3d 20 (People v. Freeny) 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. Freeny, 37 Cal. App. 3d 20, 112 Cal. Rptr. 33, 1974 Cal. App. LEXIS 1117 (Cal. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

Opinion

THOMPSON, J.

The matter at bench is an appeal from a judgment of conviction of sale of heroin (Health & Saf. Code, § 11501, now Health & Saf. Code, § 11352), two counts of possession of heroin for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11500.5, now Health & Saf. Code, § 11351), possession for sale of cocaine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11500.5, now Health & Saf. Code, § 11351), and possession of marijuana (Health & Saf. Code, § 11530, now Health & Saf. Code, § 11357). The appeal raises an issue of apparent first impression concerning the nature of exigent circumstances justifying police entry of a private residence to prevent the destruction of evidence while they await a search warrant. (See Shuey v. Superior Court, 30 Cal.App.3d 535 [106 Cal.Rptr. 452].) Appellant also contends: (1) he was unlawfully committed for trial by the magistrate who conducted the preliminary hearing; (2) a search of his automobile incident to his arrest was illegal; (3) the affidavit supporting a search warrant is inadequate; (4) the trial court denied him due process of law by relieving his privately retained counsel; (5) the court erred in denying his motion to sever his trial from that of his wife, a codefendant; and (6) the trial court erred in refusing to order the return of cash seized upon execution of the search *24 warrant. We conclude that the record establishes an emergency situation authorizing the entry of appellant’s residence to prevent the destruction of evidence in the period from his arrest until a search warrant could be obtained and that appellant’s other contentions lack merit.

Since appellant’s contentions raise issues relating primarily to the validity of searches which disclose incriminating evidence and do not question the sufficiency of evidence to support the judgment, we recite the facts developed at a hearing to suppress evidence pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5, accepting the trial court’s resolution of all questions of credibility of witnesses and the permissible inferences drawn by it from the testimony at the hearing.

Shortly before July 22, 1971, the Los Angeles Police Department received information from George Gill that a person known as “L.C.” was dealing in\narcotics. Gill was engaged as a paid informant. On July 22, 1971, Gill was “skin searched.” Immediately afterward, he and Officer Gerald W. Sawyer of the Los Angeles Police Department, who was acting as an undercover investigator, went to an apartment in El Monte, arriving at about 1:15 p.m. There they met Earnest L. Freeman and Galen Leroy Mansfield. Freeman asked Sawyer if he wanted to “cop,” street language asking whether Sawyer wished to buy narcotics. Sawyer replied that he had “come to score a piece,” i.e.. buy an ounce of heroin. Freeman said that the price would be $325 and that he would contact “the man,” i.e., in context, the supplier of narcotics. Freeman stated also that he and Sawyer would drive about 35 minutes to pick up the heroin.

Sawyer, Gill, Freeman, and Mansfield drove in the same automobile to the vicinity of Imperial and the Harbor Freeway, arriving at about 3:15 p.m. Freeman told Sawyer that Mansfield and Gill “would go to cop the stuff from L.C.” Sawyer gave Mansfield $330 in recorded police department cash and received $5 change. Sawyer and Freeman left the car and proceeded to a market at Imperial and Figueroa. The car with Gill and Mansfield drove into the parking lot of the Big Bun Restaurant near that intersection. The car parked. Approximately five minutes later, appellant arrived on a motorcycle and drove into the parking lot of the restaurant. Freeman pointed him out, identifying him to Sawyer as “L.C.” Followed by Sergeant Richard L. Cron, who had been monitoring Sawyer’s conversations by means of a Fargo transmitter hidden on Sawyer’s person, L.C. on his motorcycle and Gill and Mansfield in their automobile left the parking lot and proceeded to Denver Avenue, about 70 feet south of 113th Street. Appellant left his motorcycle and Mansfield his car. The two met. Mansfield handed “something” to appellant and appellant handed *25 “something” to Mansfield. Sergeant Crón, an experienced narcotics officer, believed he had seen a transaction in narcotics. Mansfield and Gill returned to Imperial and Figueroa. There Mansfield handed Sawyer a blue tissue. Inside was a sealed plastic packet containing an ounce of heroin. Mansfield told Sawyer: “If you like the stuff and it agrees with everybody, you can come back and you can cop from us as much as you need.”

At about 2:30 p.m. on July 27, 1971, Sawyer and Gill again met Freeman by prearrangement to purchase heroin. Sawyer was to accompany Freeman to a meeting with L.C. and there purchase three ounces of heroin for $1,120. The officer was fitted with a Fargo transmitter. The three drove in an automobile to a telephone booth where Freeman placed a call and engaged in a lengthy conversation. He returned to the car and apologized to Sawyer for taking so long with the call. Freeman told Sawyer that Freeman had told “Margurite that he had wanted to cop x-number of ounces today, and we wanted to come down there this afternoon to do it, and we had the money ready.” Freeman said that, “After I finished telling her, L.C. came in and I had to tell him everything and that is why the phone call took so long.” Freeman told Sawyer, also, that “the man would not go for” the arrangement by which Sawyer was to accompany Freeman “to make the buy.” Freeman stated that Sawyer should give him the cash to be exchanged for the heroin. A compromise was reached. Sawyer delivered $1,120 in recorded police department funds to Gill who Freeman agreed could accompany him to the place where the heroin would be delivered. Sawyer, Gill, and Freeman drove to a Norm’s Restaurant at Manchester and Figueroa where Sawyer, at about 3:50 p.m., left the car. Gill and Freeman drove off.

Sergeant Cron monitored the conversations between Sawyer and Freeman by way of receipt of transmissions from the Fargo transmitter. He followed Gill and Freeman as they .drove from the Norm’s Restaurant and proceeded to a school parking lot at Hoover and 88th Street where they parked. Officer Stanford Nelson of the Los Angeles Police Department conducted a surveillance of the premises at 19018 South Broadacres in the City of Carson. He knew that the premises were occupied by appellant and his wife, Margurite Freeny. At about 4 p.m. on July 27, appellant left the house in his automobile followed by Nelson and fellow officers conducting the surveillance. The officers followed appellant to the vicinity of Denver and 87th Street. Sergeant Cody, one of those officers, informed Cron by radio that appellant had driven off from the residence and continued to keep Cron informed of appellant’s movement. Appellant drove past the lot where Gill and Freeman were parked in their car. He turned around and returned northbound on Hoover to 88 th Street where he *26 turned westbound to Orchard where he turned south and parked at the curb. At that point, Cron instructed the officers following appellant to arrest him. He was arrested. Cron saw three bulges in the floor mat of appellant’s automobile located at the driver’s seat. He removed the floor mat and removed three packages containing a large amount of heroin.

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Bluebook (online)
37 Cal. App. 3d 20, 112 Cal. Rptr. 33, 1974 Cal. App. LEXIS 1117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-freeny-calctapp-1974.