People v. Aguilar

• Decision Date: 15 August 1996
• Docket Number: No. H014132,H014132
• Citation: 55 Cal.Rptr.2d 716,48 Cal.App.4th 632
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: , 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6135, 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9992 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Jaime AGUILAR, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 716

55 Cal.Rptr.2d 716

48 Cal.App.4th 632, 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6135,

96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9992

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Jaime AGUILAR, Defendant and Appellant.

No. H014132.

Court of Appeal, Sixth District, California.

Aug. 15, 1996.

Review Denied Nov. 13, 1996.

Scott F. Kauffman, San Francisco, Under Appointment by Court of Appeal in association with the Sixth District Appellate Program, for Appellant.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Ronald A. Bass, Sr. Assistant Attorney General, Laurence K. Sullivan and Ronald E. Niver, Deputy Attorneys General.

ELIA, Associate Justice.

After his motion to suppress was denied, Jaime Aguilar pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for sale while armed with a firearm (Health & Saf.Code, § 11351; Pen.Code, § 12022, subd. (c)); possessing marijuana for sale (Health & Saf.Code, § 11359) and possessing cocaine base for sale while armed with a firearm (Health & Saf.Code, § 11351.5). Aguilar also admitted having a prior conviction. On appeal, Aguilar argues that his motion to suppress should have been granted. We will affirm.

Facts and Procedural Background

On April 13, 1994, at about 10:40 p.m., members of the R.E.D. team (Regional Enforcement Detail), arrived at 2014 Colony Street, Apartment No. 9, in Mountain View. They planned to serve arrest warrants on appellant and Cecilio Zaragosa. ¹

The R.E.D. Team was organized to combat street crime in the Palo Alto area. Appellant and Zaragosa were believed to be engaged in criminal activities with the "Sac Street" gang--an East Palo Alto gang involved with drug sales, stolen cars, and weapons possession. According to one of the members of the R.E.D. Team, Palo Alto Police Officer Glenn Hardin, appellant's criminal record included arrests for possessing a concealed weapon and assault with a deadly weapon.

On April 12, 1994, a confidential informant had told Hardin and Officer Gregory Marsh that appellant, Zaragosa and another gang member, Sergio Garcia, were staying at 2014 Colony Street, Apartment No. 9. The informant, who had previously provided reliable information to the police, personally knew appellant, said that the men were armed, and said appellant possessed a 9 millimeter handgun. The informant also stated that appellant sold crack cocaine on Sacramento Street in the mornings, before dawn, and drove a car, which the informant described.

At around 1 a.m., on April 13, 1994, East Palo Alto Officer John Chalmers saw in the rear parking lot of the apartment complex a white Mazda which matched the description provided by the informant.

Later that day, at about 10:40 p.m., Mountain View Police Officers Russell Barcelona and Sonny Talmantez led the officers to the apartment door at 2014 Colony Street. They knocked on the door. Appellant answered the knock. The officers immediately recognized appellant. The officers told appellant that they were there on a complaint of loud music. Appellant started to back away. The officers entered the apartment. Barcelona placed appellant in custody face down in the living room about 10 feet from the front door. Zaragosa, who was seated on a couch in the living room, was also arrested. One of the officers saw a baggie of marijuana in plain view.

The officers then performed a protective sweep of the apartment since they had information indicating that at least one other person--Sergio Garcia--would be there and that firearms were present. During the protective sweep, Officer Michael Honiker shouted "Police, police."

Officers Chalmers and Honiker went down the hallway which led to two bedrooms on either side. One door was open; the other door was shut. Chalmers entered "the open bedroom real quick, made sure there wasn't anybody at my back side, and I turned my attention towards the closed door." Chalmers then opened the door to the other bedroom "got [it] about an inch open and then it slammed shut on me." As he tried to force open the door, Officer Chalmers accidentally put his foot through the door and needed Officer Honiker's assistance to extricate it.

Officer Honiker had progressed from the living room to the open bedroom, which he entered to "make sure that there [were] no threats, other people in that room." He searched for "bodies, anybody hiding, hiding under beds, hiding in the closet, hiding under clothes, behind furniture." He found no one, but did spot a handgun in a shoulder holster on the floor near the door. He then saw Officer Chalmers put his foot through the door to the other bedroom. Officer Honiker then assisted Chalmers in removing his foot. The door was then opened by the room's occupant, Daniel Aguilar.

Chalmers explained to Daniel that they had an arrest warrant for his brother and had received information that he was staying at the apartment. After advising Daniel of his constitutional rights, Chalmers asked for permission to search the apartment. Daniel agreed to talk to the officers. He gave permission to search the apartment except he refused permission for the officers to search his brother's bedroom. Based upon Daniel's consent, police searched the kitchen. They found a baggie of marijuana in one of the cabinets.

Police then obtained a warrant for the search of the apartment. In the open bedroom they found a "large amount" of cocaine and cash in a blue backpack beneath the bed. They also found more cash in clothing in the closet and a bag of rock cocaine in a jacket on the floor.

After appellant was arrested, he filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing that the police violated the knock-notice requirements and that Daniel's consent to search the apartment was obtained as a result of police coercion. The trial court denied the motion to suppress.

Appellant then pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for sale while armed with a firearm (Health & Saf.Code, § 11351; Pen.Code, § 12022, subd. (c)); possessing marijuana for sale (Health & Saf.Code, § 11359) and possessing cocaine base for sale while armed with a firearm (Health & Saf.Code, § 11351.5). Aguilar also admitted having a prior conviction. He was sentenced to a total of eight years in state prison.

This appeal ensued.

Standard of Review

When we review the denial of a motion to suppress, we view the record in the light most favorable to the trial court's ruling. We defer to the trial court's findings of fact, whether express or implied, if those findings are supported by substantial evidence. We independently determine what legal principles are relevant, and apply those principles to the facts. We determine as a matter of law whether the search or seizure was unreasonable. (People v. Williams (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1268, 1301, 248 Cal.Rptr. 834, 756 P.2d 221; see also People v. Miranda (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 917, 922, 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 785.)

Discussion

I. Knock-Notice ²

Appellant argues the police violated the knock-notice requirement when they entered Daniel Aguilar's bedroom. The People argue that the knock-notice requirement does not apply to entry to "inner" doors but only applies to the official entry into the house. Before addressing this contention, we first review the applicable law.

The issue of knock-notice with respect to inner and outer doors has been discussed in the context of Penal Code section 1531. ³ Section 1531 provides, "The officer may break open any outer or inner door or window of a house, or any part of a house or anything therein, to execute a warrant, if, after notice of his authority and purpose, he is refused admittance."

The purposes and policies which support section 1531's knock-notice rules are fourfold: "(1) the protection of the privacy of the individual in his [or her] home; (2) the protection of innocent persons present on the premises; (3) the prevention of situations which are conducive to violent confrontations between the occupant and individuals who enter his [or her] home without proper notice; and (4) the protection of police who might be injured by a startled and fearful householder." (People v. Macioce (1987) 197 Cal.App.3d 262, 271, 242 Cal.Rptr. 771.)

The cases are split on the issue of whether police are constitutionally required to give knock-notice at a closed inner door. People v. Webb (1973) 36 Cal.App.3d 460, 111 Cal.Rptr. 524; People v. Glasspoole (1975) 48 Cal.App.3d 668, 121 Cal.Rptr. 736; and People v. Pipitone (1984) 152 Cal.App.3d 1112, 201 Cal.Rptr. 18 hold that knock-notice is required at inner doors, as well as outer doors. People v. Livermore (1973) 30 Cal.App.3d 1073, 106 Cal.Rptr. 822; People v. Castaneda (1976) 58 Cal.App.3d 165, 129 Cal.Rptr. 755; People v. Pompa (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d 1308, 261 Cal.Rptr. 417; and People v. Howard (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 1544, 23 Cal.Rptr.2d 212 hold that knock-notice only applies to entry to a house and need not be repeated at inner doors. A federal decision, United States v. Crawford (9th Cir.1981) 657 F.2d 1041, also holds that knock-notice does not apply to inner doors.

Recently, in People v. Howard, supra, 18 Cal.App.4th 1544, 23 Cal.Rptr.2d 212, the court analyzed these conflicting decisions. It noted that People v. Webb, supra, 36 Cal.App.3d 460, 111 Cal.Rptr. 524, which held that knock-notice was required for inner doors, relied upon section 1531's language which specifically refers to outer doors as well as inner doors. Rejecting Webb 's construction of section 1531, Howard reasoned, "If the Webb court is correct in its interpretation of 'the explicit terms' of section 1531, then as a matter of consistent grammatical construction knock-notice must precede not only the 'break[ing] open' of 'any outer or inner door or windows of a house' but also the 'breaking open' of 'any part of a house' as well as 'anything therein.' '[A]ny part of a house' would include closets, crawl spaces, a furnace, etc. '[A]nything therein' would include everything therein which one could 'break open' such as wardrobes, chests...