State v. Cervantes

593 P.2d 478, 92 N.M. 643
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 8, 1979
Docket3715
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 593 P.2d 478 (State v. Cervantes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Cervantes, 593 P.2d 478, 92 N.M. 643 (N.M. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

OPINION

WOOD, Chief Judge.

Heroin and phencyclidine are controlled substances. Sections 30-31-6(B), N.M.S.A. 1978 (Supp.1978) and 30-31-8(B), N.M.S.A. 1978. Defendant appeals his convictions of three counts of trafficking in heroin and two counts of distribution of phencyclidine. Sections 30-31-20 and 30-31-22, N.M.S.A. 1978. We (1) answer four issues summarily and discuss (2) search and seizure claims and (3) evidence of conduct.

Issues Answered Summarily

(a) Defendant made an insufficient showing to obtain dismissal on the basis of pre-indictment delay. State v. Duran, 91 N.M. 756, 581 P.2d 19 (1978); State v. Tafoya, 91 N.M. 121, 570 P.2d 1148 (Ct.App.1977); State v. Jojola, 89 N.M. 489, 553 P.2d 1296 (Ct.App.1976).

(b) Newspaper articles submitted in support of a motion for a change of venue did not, in themselves, require granting of the motion. State v. Foster, 82 N.M. 573, 484 P.2d 1283 (Ct.App.1971). Under the evidence, and the trial court’s findings, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion. State v. Turner, 90 N.M. 79, 559 P.2d 1206 (Ct.App.1976).

(c) Pursuant to Rule of Crim.Proc. 32(a), the prosecutor served written demand upon defendant to give notice as to whether defendant intended to claim an alibi. Defendant did not respond. At trial, defendant sought to offer the testimony of a witness and certain exhibits to the effect that, at the time the crimes were committed in Santa Fe, defendant no longer lived in that city. The trial court excluded this testimony, but permitted defendant to testify that he resided in Albuquerque at the pertinent times. This was in accordance with Rule of Crim.Proc. 32(c) which reads:

If a defendant fails to serve a copy of such notice as herein required, the court may exclude evidence offered by such defendant for the purpose of proving an alibi, except the testimony of the defendant himself.

The trial court’s exclusion of the alibi evidence was not an abuse of discretion. See State v. Smith, 88 N.M. 541, 543 P.2d 834 (Ct.App.1975).

(d) Defendant sought a mistrial on the basis of comments of the prosecutor during closing argument. Defendant’s argument emphasizes one sentence of the prosecutor, out of context. What the prosecutor said, in context, was that if the jury reviewed the evidence (emphasizing some exhibits), the prosecutor was convinced the jury would be convinced, beyond a reasonable doubt, of defendant’s guilt. This was not improper argument; rather, it was a fair argument based on the evidence. Denial of the mistrial motion was not error.

Search and Seizure

A search warrant authorized search of specified premises for heroin. The search resulted in seizure of the items subsequently identified herein. Defendant sought suppression of these items. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the several motions to suppress. Defendant asserts' this was error. Under this issue we discuss: (a) facial sufficiency of the affidavit on which the search warrant was based, (b) propriety of the evidentiary hearing, and (c) seizure of items not mentioned in the search warrant.

(a) Facial Sufficiency

Defendant claims the affidavit was insufficient to show probable cause. The affidavit states:

On January 27, 1978 Affiant was contacted by a Confidential Informant, herein after [sic] referred to as C.I., who stated that during the late evening hours of January 26, 1978 he (C.I.) was inside George Cervantes’ residence at 743 Alto Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico and personally observed George Cervantes to be in possession of a large quantity of heroin. Said heroin was packaged in small aluminum packets and inside a plastic baggie. C.I. is a heroin addict and is very knowledgeable about the way heroin is packaged for street sale.
C.I. has given information to affiant on at least one occassion [sic] in the past week which has resulted in the recovery of stolen property and the indictment of a suspect. Affiant was also contacted by Officer Arthur Ficke of the Santa Fe Community Relations Bureau on January 27, 1978 and was informed by Officer Ficke that he had received a telephone call from an unknown male through the Santa Fe Crime Stoppers Program telephone number and the unknown male who called at 8:00 AM on January 27, 1978 had stated that he knew that a large shipment of heroin had come into town on January 26, 1978 at approximately 2:00 PM and that the heroin had gone to George Cervantes’ house on Alto Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Defendant’s motion, attacking the affidavit, alleged a facial insufficiency on the basis that (1) the confidential informer was not disclosed, (2) insufficient facts showing the reliability of the confidential informer, and (3) insufficiency of both the knowledge and reliability of the anonymous informer.

Probable cause for issuance of the search warrant in this case, requires use of the information from the informers. In this situation, Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964) states:

Although an affidavit may be based on hearsay information and need not reflect the direct personal observations of the affiant . . . the magistrate must be informed of some of the underlying circumstances from which the informant concluded that the narcotics were where he claimed they were, and some of the underlying circumstances from which the officer concluded that the informant, whose identity need not be disclosed . was “credible” or his information “reliable.”

See Hudson v. State, 89 N.M. 759, 557 P.2d 1108 (1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 924, 97 S.Ct. 2198, 53 L.Ed.2d 238 (1977).

Because the informer need not be disclosed in the affidavit, the claim based on the nondisclosure of the informer is without merit.

The affidavit recites that the confidential informer was present in the residence to be searched during the late evening hours of January 26, 1978, and personally observed the heroin, with which he was familiar because he was an heroin addict. This informed the judge issuing the search warrant as to “the underlying circumstances from which the informant concluded that the narcotics were where he claimed they were . . . .”

The affidavit recites that the confidential informer had given information in the past week which had resulted in the recovery of stolen property. This informed the judge of the underlying circumstances from which the affiant concluded that the informer was credible.

Defendant does not argue that the personal observations of the confidential informer were insufficient.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
593 P.2d 478, 92 N.M. 643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cervantes-nmctapp-1979.