Lockridge v. Superior Court for Los Angeles County

• Decision Date: 15 August 1969
• Citation: 275 Cal.App.2d 612,80 Cal.Rptr. 223
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: Lawrence Edward LOCKRIDGE, Roger Allen Lockridge and Frank Tierno, Petitioners, v. SUPERIOR COURT of the State of California, FOR the COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, Respondent, PEOPLE of the State of California, Real Party in Interest. Civ. 33092.

Page 223

80 Cal.Rptr. 223

275 Cal.App.2d 612

Lawrence Edward LOCKRIDGE, Roger Allen Lockridge and Frank Tierno, Petitioners, v. SUPERIOR COURT of the State of California, FOR the COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, Respondent PEOPLE of the State of California, Real Party in Interest.

Civ. 33092.

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 5, California.

Aug. 15, 1969.

Harvey A. Schneider, Beverly Hills, for petitioner Lawrence Edward lockridge.

Max Solomon, Los Angeles, for petitioner Roger Allen Lockridge.

Burton Marks, Los Angeles, for petitioner Frank Tierno.

Evelle J. Younger, Dist. Atty., Harry Wood, Chief, Appellate Division, and Robert J. Lord, Deputy Dist. Atty., for real party in interest.

No appearance for respondent.

STEPHENS, Acting Presiding Justice.

In Count I of an information filed on November 27, 1967, the three petitioners (Lawrence Edward Lockridge, Roger Allen Lockridge, and Frank Tierno) were charged with conspiring to violate Penal Code, sections 459, 464, 484, 496 and 466, in violation of Penal Code, section 182, subdivision 1. For ease of reference, the Lockridge brothers will hereinafter be referred to by first name. Counts III and IV charged petitioners with violating Penal Code, section 459; Count V charged a violation of Penal Code, section 464; and Counts X and XI charged violations of Penal Code, section 496. Petitioners Lawrence and Roger were charged in Count VI with an additional violation of Penal Code, section 459; in Count IX, with an additional violation of Penal Code, section 496; in Count VII, with a violation of Penal Code, section 209; and in Count VIII, with a violation of Penal Code, section 211.

Count II charged petitioners with conspiracy to prevent and obstruct justice and the due administration of the laws, in violation of Penal Code, section 182, subdivision 5; this count was thereafter dismissed, pursuant to petitioners' motions under Penal Code, section 995. Petitioners (defendants below) entered pleas of not guilty on all remaining counts and moved to suppress evidence on all of the statutory grounds under Penal Code, section 1538.5. After a special hearing, the motion under section 1538.5 was denied and petitioners thereupon filed the instant petition for a writ of mandate or prohibition. (Pen.Code, § 1538.5, subd. (i).) We issued an alternative writ of mandate.

This is a complex case involving numerous arrests and searches conducted over a substantial period of time. The transcript of the section 1538.5 proceedings extends to over 1,000 pages. Accordingly, a general summary of facts will be initially outlined, followed by a fuller explication of the evidence where necessary to a resolution of the multifarious contentions advanced by petitioners.

On August 25, 1967, Officer Staub of the Santa Barbara Police Department, while on patrol, received information from the police dispatcher that a silent alarm at the B. D. Howes Jewelry Company had just been set off. En route to the location, he observed a white Thunderbird automobile, license number NPS 214, parked around the corner from the jewelry store and occupied by a person seated in the driver's seat. Upon arrival at the rear of the jewelry store, at 6:35 a.m., the officer observed a man, subsequently identified as Lawrence, descend from a telephone pole and walk away. Officer Staub accosted Lawrence and observed that he was wearing a telephone lineman's belt and carrying other telephone equipment, but was otherwise attired in normal street clothing. There was no telephone company car in the area. Lawrence stated that he was employed by the General Telephone Company and was checking for short circuits. He produced a driver's license in the name of James A. Fallon, but was unable to produce identification from the General Telephone Company. As Officer Staub and Lawrence approached the police car, Staub saw the white car drive away. A check of the records of General Telephone revealed that no person named James Fallon was employed by them, and the suspect was unable to furnish the name of his immediate supervisor or his employee number. Lawrence was placed under arrest for suspicion of violating Penal Code, section 591 (tampering with telephone wires).

Officer Staub radioed the license number of the white Thunderbird to the dispatcher, who in turn requested a registration check from the Highway Patrol. Information received from the Highway Patrol disclosed that the license plates were registered to James Fallon. At approximately 8:30 in the morning of August 25, 1967, Roger was arrested on suspicion of violating Penal Code, section 591 (tampering with telephone wires). He was arrested approximately six blocks from the jewelry store when officers observed him getting into a white Thunderbird with the license number NPS 214.

An APB (all points bulletin) teletype was issued by the Santa Barbara Police Department directed to all burglary details, and in particular, to Sergeant Lovold of the Los Angeles Police Department burglary detail. The teletype related to the circumstances attendant upon the activation of the silent alarm at the B. D. Howes jewelry store. Later, on August 25, 1967, Sergeant Lovold traveled to Santa Barbara because he had formed the opinion that due to the unique method used in attempting to circumvent the silent alarm system, Roger and Lawrence had been involved in two burglaries in Los Angeles during the months of June and July.

When booked in Santa Barbara, Lawrence had on his person a sales receipt for clothing sold to 'J. Fallan (sic), 4455 Los Feliz, Apt. 904--L.A. 27.' Lawrence, however, gve his address as 327 N. Isabel, Glendale. Roger, at the time of booking, had in his possession sale deposit key number W-6139, and listed his address as 901 Glenwood Road. Roger and Lawrence, in addition to the tampering charge, were also charged with attempted burglary, in violation of Penal Code, section 459. Subsequently, the charges against Roger were dismissed. Lawrence pleaded guilty to the offense of trespassing.

Sergeant Lovold returned to Los Angeles, and on August 28, 1967 initiated the issuance of search warrant 1657, and searched apartment 904 at 4455 Los Feliz Boulevard. In executing search warrant 1657, police officers discovered, among other things, a receipt for safe deposit box number 2498 in the name of Lawrence at the Security First National Bank, Burbank Branch, located at 101 South San Fernando Boulevard. This led to the issuance of search warrant 1659 on August 29, 1967, authorizing a search of safe deposit box number 2498. On August 30, 1967, search warrant 1660 was issued, authorizing a search of safe deposit box number W-6139 at the Bank of America, Burbank Branch, for property not recovered, but described in search warrant 1657. In executing search warrant 1660, police officers observed 15 wiggle keys in safe deposit box number W-6139. ¹ Because search warrant 1660 was not issued for the seizure of such keys, on August 30, 1967 search warrant 10 was issued, authorizing the seizure of these keys. In addition, this warrant authorized a search of 901 Glenwood Road, Glendale, and a 1964 Chevrolet, license number HCT 016, registered to Roger, to recover the remainder of the unrecovered stolen property which was the object of search warrant 1657.

On October 13, 1967, Lawrence was arrested at 327 Isabel Street, Apartment 2, Glendale pursuant to an arrest warrant. The white Thunderbird in which Roger had been arrested in Santa Barbara was parked approximately 75 feet from the Glendale apartment. A search thereof was made. Roger and Frank Tierno were also arrested on this date.

Arrest of Roger Lockridge on August 25, 1967

Petitioner Roger contends that his arrest in Santa Barbara on August 25, 1967 was without probable cause. The propriety of this arrest is properly before us. As stated in People v. Curtis, 70 Cal.2d ---, --- ^a , 74 Cal.Rptr. 713, 716, 450 P.2d 33, 36; 'An arrest is a 'seizure' and an arrest without a warrant or probable cause is 'unreasonable' within the purview of the Fourth Amendment.'

Following the time Officer Staub received information from his police dispatcher that a silent alarm at the B. D. Howes Jewelry Company had just been set off, on that morning, the officer proceeded to the jewelry company and upon arriving at the scene observed a white Thunderbird Ford automobile parked around the corner, with a male Caucasian seated behind the steering wheel. No other cars were parked on the street at that early hour. The officer drove his police vehicle into an alley at the rear of the store to determine if there had been forced entry. The officer was unable to observe any signs of a forced entry, but it was during this investigation that he saw defendant Lawrence descend from the telephone pole and walk away. This telephone pole was approximately 100 feet distant from the store in question. The officer asked Lawrence to accompany him to the police vehicle and upon their approaching the police vehicle, the white Thunderbird drove off. The officer observed the profile of the person in the vehicle. He testified that this person looked like defendant Roger. When asked who was in the Thunderbird, Lawrence said, 'I don't know.'

Investigation by Officer Staub of the telephone pole disclosed that the lid to the terminal box at the top of the pole was open. Officer Staub called his dispatcher and gave him a description of the car and its license number and a general description of the occupant of the car. He requested his dispatcher to have a police radio message put out to the effect that the car Should be stopped until the investigation could be completed. He also requested that additional officers be called in to try to locate 'Fallon's' truck. The dispatcher requested a registration check on the license plates from the Highway Patrol, and received the information that the license plates were registered to 'James Fallon.' Officer Staub also asked his...