People v. Henry

195 P.2d 478, 86 Cal. App. 2d 785, 1948 Cal. App. LEXIS 1687
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 16, 1948
DocketCrim. 659
StatusPublished
Cited by55 cases

This text of 195 P.2d 478 (People v. Henry) 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. Henry, 195 P.2d 478, 86 Cal. App. 2d 785, 1948 Cal. App. LEXIS 1687 (Cal. Ct. App. 1948).

Opinion

BARNARD, P. J.

The defendant was charged with a violation of section 11170 of the Health and Safety Code in that on July 3, 1947, she feloniously attempted to obtain narcotics by fraud, deceit and misrepresentation. In a second count she was charged with conspiring with an unknown person to feloniously obtain narcotics by such means. A jury having been waived, she was tried by the court and found guilty on both counts. Probation was denied and judgment was pronounced sentencing her to imprisonment at Tehaehapi. While her notice of appeal is technically deficient it sufficiently appears that she has in good faith attempted to appeal from the judgment.

The appellant produced no evidence in her own behalf and the following facts appear without conflict. About 8:40 p. m. *787 on July 3, 1947, a pharmacist in a certain drug store in Santa Ana received a telephone call from a man representing himself as Dr. Larson, who ordered 30 dilaudid tablets of a certain strength to be delivered to a Mrs. Mitchell, who would call for them. Dilaudid is a preparation made from morphine, about five times as strong and less toxic, and it is habit forming. The pharmacist phoned to Dr. Larson, who said that no such prescription had been ordered by him, and then called the police. At 8 :45 p. m the defendant came into this drug store and being asked by the pharmacist if she was after the prescription for Mrs. Mitchell she replied, “Yes.” She was told to wait a few minutes. When another clerk asked if he could help her the defendant replied that she was waiting for a prescription for Mrs. Mitchell. She then purchased a few articles. When the police officers arrived the pharmacist called “Mrs. Mitchell” to the defendant, who was then at the front end of the store, and she came over to him. In reply to their questions the defendant told the officers that her name was Mrs. Marie Henry; that she lived at 1812 French Street in Santa Ana; that she had not come to the store to get narcotics or medicine; that her name was not Mitchell; and that she had three children who were alone at home. Later, she told the officers that she lived at another address in the 1500 block on French Street in Santa Ana. There is evidence that there was no 1800 block on French Street and that the man living at the other address in the 1500 block had never heard of the defendant.

A pharmacist from another drug store testified that about 6:30 p. m. on the same evening he received a phone call from a man who said he was Dr. Johnson of Santa Ana; that this man stated he had an emergency prescription for Mrs. Gunther of 307 West Palmyra Street; that this man asked for 30 of these same “dilaudid” tablets, saying that the patient would be right over for it and that he would send a prescription blank over in the morning; that while he was thinking the matter over the defendant came in and called for medicine for Mrs. Gunther; that he told her he would have to have certain information; that the defendant replied she would go and get the information but did not return; and that he then investigated and found there was no 307 West Palmyra Street.

An officer testified that in the forenoon of July 8, 1947, he responded to a call from the county hospital saying the defendant wanted to talk to someone; that he talked to the defendant *788 in the presence of the district attorney, a reporter and two others; that in reply to a question as to whether she used narcotics the defendant said she used “dilaudid,” and that the last time she got some was on the preceding Thursday; that she got it from a friend named Sam Goldstein; that she went in the drug store first above mentioned on July 3d; that she went in there to get narcotics; and that Goldstein had called this drug store from a pay phone across the street, saying that he was a doctor and that either the defendant or his wife would come in and get it. When asked if there were any other women working for Sam Goldstein she replied ‘ ‘ Two or three. ’ ’ When asked what Goldstein’s business was she said “Selling narcotics and pimping.” When asked if she had done this before and had thus gone in for prescriptions she replied that she had.

The appellant first contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction on the first count. It is argued that there is no evidence that she attempted to obtain narcotics, and none that she attempted to do so through the use of a false name or a false address. This argument overlooks the other evidence showing misrepresentations as to the doctor, the prescription, the name and the address, all connected up with the appellant through her own statements and admissions.

It is next contended that the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction of conspiracy on the second count. It is argued that the fact of conspiracy cannot be proved by the declarations of a coconspirator, that certain of the evidence was inadmissible, and that the corpus delicti was not established prior to the receipt of any evidence which might tend to prove a conspiracy. Insofar as these objections go to the order of proof they are without merit. This is one of those cases where certain facts are so intimately blended with other facts that a departure from the general rule is permissible. (People v. Fehrenbach, 102 Cal. 394 [36 P. 678] ; People v. Ferlin, 203 Cal. 587 [265 P. 230]; People v. Compton, 123 Cal. 403 [56 P. 44].) The statements and admissions of the appellant are themselves sufficient to remove any doubt and to eliminate any possible prejudice which might otherwise have appeared. It may be further observed that, in any event, there could have been no prejudice in this regard in view of the fact that no order was made requiring a consecutive service of the sentence with respect to this count.

It is next contended that the court erred in admitting certain testimony and in refusing to strike the same. It is *789 first urged that the evidence of three telephone conversations was hearsay and inadmissible. With respect to the telephone conversation between Dr. Larson and the pharmacist both parties to the conversation testified. With respect to the telephone conversations between the pharmacist in the first-named drug store and an unknown person and that between the pharmacist at the second drug store and an unnamed person, only one party to the respective conversations testified and of course the appellant was not a party thereto. There is a well-established exception or departure from the hearsay rule applying to cases in which the very fact in controversy is whether certain things were said or done and not as to whether these things were true or false, and in these cases the words or acts are admissible not as hearsay, but as original evidence. (Pfister v. Dascey, 68 Cal. 572 [10 P. 117]; People v. Kelley, 22 Cal.2d 169 [137 P.2d 1] ; People v. Klein, 71 Cal.App.2d 588 [163 P.2d 71]; People v. Radley, 68 Cal.App.2d 607 [157 P.2d 426

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Bluebook (online)
195 P.2d 478, 86 Cal. App. 2d 785, 1948 Cal. App. LEXIS 1687, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-henry-calctapp-1948.