People v. Koury

214 Cal. App. 3d 676, 262 Cal. Rptr. 870, 1989 Cal. App. LEXIS 1008
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 5, 1989
DocketD009847
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 214 Cal. App. 3d 676 (People v. Koury) 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. Koury, 214 Cal. App. 3d 676, 262 Cal. Rptr. 870, 1989 Cal. App. LEXIS 1008 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

Opinion

HUFFMAN, J.

Ronald Robert Koury and German Nava Hernandez separately appeal from their judgments of convictions entered after their pretrial motions were denied and they pleaded guilty 1 to charges of possessing cocaine and marijuana for sale (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11351, 11359, respectively) and admitted the truth of the allegations that they possessed more than 28.5 grams of cocaine or more than 57 grams of a substance containing cocaine (Pen. Code, § 1203.073, subd. (b)(1)). 2 We have determined the denials of their respective motions to suppress under section 1538.5 were error and accordingly reverse the judgments with directions. As we shall explain, based on the facts presented, both Koury and Hernandez had sufficient standing to challenge the search and seizure in this case.

Procedural and Factual Background

On May 20, 1987, Buena Park Police Detectives Michael Timothy Cook and Edison Hornung, along with other deputies, served a search warrant on a residence located at 2333 Coronet in the City of Anaheim, California. Upon arrival at that address, Hornung found Koury and his wife Deanne in the front yard of the residence. Cook and Hornung then entered the house and conducted a search.

On the floor by the bed in the master bedroom, Hornung found a closed camel colored zippered pouch containing credit cards issued to Hernandez, a piece of newspaper, 13 grams of cocaine and a set of car keys which fit a car parked outside of the residence registered to Hernandez. He also found a locked light brown briefcase under the bed. Forcing it open, he found a metal-plated Social Security card in Hernandez’s name, a green identification card with Hernandez’s name and picture on it and 12 one-ounce packages of cocaine. In addition, he found a large gray suitcase on the bed or just to the side of the bed. He pried it open and found it contained 24 one-pound packages of marijuana. He found no identification in or on the suitcase.

*681 In that same bedroom, Homung found a wallet on a dresser which contained a small amount of money, Koury’s driver’s license and a key that fit the residence’s front door deadbolt lock. He also noticed several items of men’s clothing in the bedroom closet and found another briefcase under the bed. This second briefcase was a darker brown than the first and contained several pieces of mail, including letters addressed to Koury at an address in Romoland, California, and a subpoena addressed to him at the Coronet address.

Cook, who had followed Hornung into the master bedroom, saw the gray suitcase and light brown briefcase after they had been opened by Hornung. Seeing the cocaine and marijuana, along with numerous handguns and rifles, Cook believed the house was being used as a base for the distribution of controlled substances. The officers seized the contraband, weapons, documents and containers.

Although the record is unclear as to exactly when the arrests were made, Koury, his wife and Hernandez were all arrested that same day. A booking search of Hernandez produced a key which fit the gray suitcase earlier found in the master bedroom. Koury, his wife and Hernandez were subsequently charged by information with possession of cocaine and marijuana for sale and it was alleged they possessed more than 28.5 grams of cocaine or more than 57 grams of a substance containing cocaine.

On July 31, 1987, Hernandez moved under section 1538.5 to suppress the evidence found during the search of the Coronet residence on grounds the search and seizure were unreasonable because they were conducted without a warrant as to his personal suitcase, light brown briefcase and zippered pouch, and the method of executing the warrant on the residence was constitutionally infirm.

On August 3, 1987, Koury filed motions to set aside the information under section 995, to traverse the affidavit in support of the search warrant and to suppress evidence under sections 1538.5, 1539 and 1540 and to discover the identity of confidential informants. His motion to suppress was based upon alleged negligent and intentional misrepresentations and omissions in the affidavit in support of the search warrant, and he sought the identity of the confidential informants in order to challenge the informants’ statements in the search warrant.

On August 10, 1987, Koury filed a joinder in any and all motions brought by his codefendants and on September 29, 1987, Hernandez filed his joinder in any and all motions brought by Koury and/or his wife. The superior *682 court file of which we take judicial notice reveals that Deanne Koury also filed joinders in both Koury’s and Hernandez’s motions.

At the beginning of the hearing on the pretrial motions, counsel for Koury suggested the issue of standing be addressed first. For the record the deputy district attorney objected to Koury and Hernandez bringing the suppression motions without showing they each had standing. He had no objection to Deanne Koury’s standing to bring a suppression motion.

After some discussion, the court determined Koury and Hernandez had to present evidence to show each had standing. Koury then moved to have the search warrant and the affidavit supporting it admitted into evidence. The court ordered the originals of the documents for review and took under submission the question of their admissibility.

In the meantime, Officer Cook was called to the stand and testified consistently with the facts stated above. The court did not allow him to give his opinion as to whether Koury lived at the Coronet residence. Defense counsel then attempted to have the search warrant and affidavit entered into evidence as official court records. The court would not allow either into evidence as to the motion to suppress on grounds the statements relevant to the motion were hearsay, nor would the court take judicial notice of them.

Defense counsel then switched to the confidential informant disclosure motion to attempt to prove the informants were material witnesses on the issue of standing and crucial to Koury’s and Hernandez’s defenses. At that time, the court admitted into evidence a certified copy of the search warrant and supporting affidavit for purposes of the confidential informant motion only.

Officer Cook was again called to testify. He stated that on May 13, 1987, the Buena Park Police Department received information from a confidential informant that Koury and his wife Deanne sold narcotics. The informant had known the Kourys for a year and a half and stated they sold drugs from the 2333 Coronet address and that Hernandez was staying at the residence and had been there for a few days. Within a week, a second informant called the police department giving information that the Kourys sold drugs from the Coronet residence.

Based on this information, Cook and Officer Hornung conducted a three-hour surveillance of the residence on May 14, 1987. During this time, they observed quite a bit of foot traffic to and from the residence as well as noticing cars pulling up to the house, their occupants going inside the house for a few minutes and then returning and driving away. They also saw *683

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
214 Cal. App. 3d 676, 262 Cal. Rptr. 870, 1989 Cal. App. LEXIS 1008, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-koury-calctapp-1989.