People v. Crews, Cr. 2768

• Decision Date: 02 April 1952
• Docket Number: Cr. 2768
• Citation: 242 P.2d 64,110 Cal.App.2d 218
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: PEOPLE v. CREWS.

Page 64

242 P.2d 64

110 Cal.App.2d 218

PEOPLE v. CREWS.

Cr. 2768.

District Court of Appeal, First District, Division 2, California.

April 2, 1952.

Nathan C. Coghlan, San Francisco, for appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., David K. Lener, Deputy, for respondent.

NOURSE, Presiding Justice.

Harold and Ruth Crews, husband and wife, were tried and convicted of the unlawful possession of heroin in violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code. Harold was sentenced to the state penitentiary and Ruth to the state institution for women. Harold alone appeals from the judgment and from the order denying his motion for a new trial.

Two police officers broke into the living quarters of the defendants at about 3:45 A.M. after they had failed to get a reply to their knocks on the door. Mrs. Crews ran to a window which she opened and then made a 'tossing' motion of the hand which the officers interpreted as having been for the purpose of casting something out of the window. One of them went down to the street and found a bindle of heroin on the sidewalk. At the same time she screamed to her husband for help. Both officers were in regulation uniform. Mr. Crews was on the street in front of the building in and about his parked automobile. He followed the officer who found the drug back into the rooms of the defendants. In the presence of the defendants they searched the rooms and found two more bindles of heroin on the floor near a waste basket, two spoons blackened by fire, with cotton filters saturated with heroin, and a can of powered milk commonly used in taking heroin. One of the spoons was in a drawer of a bureau used by the husband and wife jointly; the other was lying in plain sight on top of the bureau.

The evidence was sufficient to support the finding of joint possession of husband and wife. See People v. Chan Chaun, 41 Cal.App.2d 586, 107 P.2d 455; People v. Wong Fun, 39 Cal.App.2d 211, 102 P.2d 774; People v. Physioc, 86 Cal.App.2d 650, 195 P.2d 23. In his attack upon the verdict appellant founds his argument on his attempt to show that though he lived in constant association with his wife in a small three room abode he had no possession or control over the narcotics or paraphernalia found there in open sight, but that his wife had and exercised complete and exclusive possession and control. Unfortunately for him there were six married women and two spinsters on the jury who were not impressed with his contention.

The prosecution put a witness on the stand, in rebuttal, who testified that about eleven months prior thereto the same parties were arrested at the same place charged with possession of narcotics. This defendant made timely objection and when his objection was overruled he sought to cross-examine the...