State v. Kiser

546 P.2d 831, 26 Ariz. App. 106, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 782
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMarch 5, 1976
Docket2 CA-CR 705
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 546 P.2d 831 (State v. Kiser) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kiser, 546 P.2d 831, 26 Ariz. App. 106, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 782 (Ark. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

OPINION

KRUCKER, Judge.

Appellant, Harry Earl Kiser, was charged with unlawful sale of heroin on July 6, 1972, in violation of A.R.S. § 36-1002.02 (Supp. 1971-72). He was convicted at his first trial, but the trial court subsequently granted his motion for a new trial. This ruling was affirmed on appeal. 111 Ariz. 316, 529 P.2d 215. Appellant was tried a second time, convicted, and sentenced to five to seven years in the state prison. He has now perfected this appeal.

Appellant raises numerous contentions on appeal: (1) The evidence established entrapment as a matter of law; (2) the State failed to carry its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not entrapped; (3) a new trial is required because certain testimony of an undercover narcotics agent was unduly prejudicial; (4) the trial court erred in refusing to give an instruction on the offense of possession of heroin; (5) the case should be remanded for resentencing because the trial court assumed that appellant would be eligible for “two-for-one” time when it passed sentence.

The case arose thusly. In June and July of 1972, appellant was a heroin addict. On July 5, 1972, he injected himself with a full “paper” (150 mg.) of heroin. The next day he and his brother began drinking in the morning and continued through the day. At about 8:00 p. m. they sat down on a bus bench on Speedway Blvd. in Tucson to wait for a bus that would take them to Ray and Red’s, a bar on North Fourth Avenue.

At that time Officers Pershing and Conrad, who were acting as undercover narcotics agents, were driving west on Speedway in an unmarked vehicle. They spotted appellant and his brother by the bus bench, and Pershing decided to stop. The agents then offered them a ride and they accepted it. On entering the car they saw that Pershing wore an earring and had long hair covering his head and face. In addition, he had half a dozen swollen and discolored “tracks” in the veins of the inside of his arm. He later testified he was portraying a heroin addict. Appellant’s testimony shows that when he first met Pershing he was not much impressed by his “tracks,” and paid little attention to them. Conrad was also unkempt, but had no “tracks.”

As the car again proceeded west on Speedway, the agents introduced themselves *108 and said they were from out of state. After a bit of conversation, appellant offered to sell the agents his radio. The agents pulled their car off Speedway onto a side street to examine it. Pershing testified that he said he did not want it and asked, “Do you know where I could cop any stuff?” Appellant testified that Pershing said he was not interested in the radio but would buy it if appellant would get him some heroin. According to appellant, he refused to do so. Appellant’s brother, Tom, then told Pershing that if he wanted drugs he could buy them at Himmel Park. Pershing wheeled the undercover car around and drove to Himmel Park. Appellant did not object to going and decided he might be able to sell his radio there. Appellant’s brother testified that appellant and the agents may have agreed to go to Himmel Park so appellant could procure drugs.

Pershing drove the car into the north parking lot of Himmel Park and stopped. Appellant offered to sell the radio to Pershing for ten dollars and Pershing refused. He told appellant he would buy the radio if appellant could “cop some stuff” for him and appellant again declined. Appellant then got out of the car and attempted to sell his radio to someone in the park. Meeting with no success, he returned to the car after about five minutes.

The agents testified that when appellant re-entered the car he said he wanted to sell the radio because he was a junky and wanted to buy some heroin. Pershing-said he could “get off” on some dope, but neither agent feigned any symptoms of withdrawal. The agents testified that appellant then said he could buy some heroin for Pershing, who then gave appellant twenty dollars. Appellant left and returned shortly with two packets of heroin. He gave one to the agent.

Appellant testified that when he returned from his first attempt to sell his radio, he offered it to Pershing for successively lower prices. Each time Pershing said he would give him ten dollars for it if he would “cop some dope.” Appellant testified that he refused and that the agents then started to talk about heroin among themselves. Pershing told appellant he needed a full paper to “get off with.” According to appellant, Pershing also told him he had “shot up” 12 hours ago and asked what kind of “junk” was being sold in the park. Appellant replied that it was Mexican “junk” and the agents started to discuss the merits of Chinese “junk” as opposed to Mexican “junk.” Appellant testified that he originally sought to sell his radio so he and his brother could drink some more, but:

“A. Well, I knew he needed dope. He was showing me his track marks and telling me his habit and everything else. He said he needed it. He got me wanting it, too.”
Q. What were they doing, going through a light withdrawal? '
A. Well, kind of excited, you know, wanting drugs so bad, and if a person even chips he wouldn’t go through what Pershing went through to get it.
Q. When you went to buy the heroin you were kind of excited, too, weren’t you?
A. Yes.
Q. And you wanted the drug pretty bad?
A. Yes, sir.”

Appellant testified that he left the car a second time to try to sell the radio, this time so he could buy heroin. He failed again and returned to the car. He then agreed to buy heroin with the twenty dollars supplied by the agent. As he left the car with the money, he asked, “How many do you want ?” Someone shouted back “two” and appellant proceeded to buy two papers of heroin from a woman in the park. He returned and gave both to the agent behind the wheel, who gave one back to him at his request.

After this transaction, the agents and appellant and his brother drove toward Catalina Park on Fourth Avenue below *109 Speedway. Conrad testified that they then discussed the merits of the various kinds of foreign heroin. When they reached Catalina Park, Pershing asked appellant, “Can I find you later ? Will you be around here or anything?” Appellant said he lived behind a house near the park and regularly hung around there. He also told Pershing to look for him if he ever wanted to buy heroin. Appellant later explained that he told him to “ . . . drop back by anytime because, look, I mean, I found a new way of getting drugs so I said ‘I’ll cop for you.’ ”

Appellant first argues that it was error to submit the case to the jury because the uncontradicted evidence established entrapment as a matter of law. We must disagree. We note that beginning with the United States Supreme Court case of Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 53 S.Ct. 210, 77 L.Ed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
546 P.2d 831, 26 Ariz. App. 106, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kiser-arizctapp-1976.