People v. Maddox, Cr. 5683

• Court: United States State Supreme Court (California)
• Writing for the Court: TRAYNOR; GIBSON; SHENK
• Citation: 294 P.2d 6,46 Cal.2d 301
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Eljoe MADDOX, Defendant and Appellant.
• Docket Number: Cr. 5683
• Decision Date: 28 February 1956

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294 P.2d 6 46 Cal.2d 301 The PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
Eljoe MADDOX, Defendant and Appellant. Cr. 5683. Supreme Court of California, In Bank. Feb. 28, 1956.
Rehearing Denied March 21, 1956.

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[46 Cal.2d 302] Eljoe Maddox, in pro. Per., and Clinton Wayne White, Oakland, for appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., Clarence A. Linn, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Leo J. Vander Lans, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.

[46 Cal.2d 303] TRAYNOR, Justice.

Defendant was found guilty by a jury of two counts of selling heroin, Health and Safety Code, § 11500, and one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of selling, giving away, or using heroin. Health and Safety Code, § 11557. His motion for a new trial was denied, and judgment was pronounced against him. He appeals from the judgment and the order denying his motion for a new trial.

Roy Cleek testified that on June 23, 1954, he visited defendant's home in Oakland and bought a $10 'paper' of heroin, as he had done many times in the preceding six months. He used defendant's equipment to take a shot of heroin and left it on the kitchen table. Both Cleek and Joe Davis testified that at about 3:30 p.m., Davis came to defendant's residence, bought a 'paper' from defendant, and used the same equipment to take a shot of heroin. Shortly after 4:30 p.m. Cleek and Davis left the premises and had not gone far when they were arrested by Officers Taylor and Hilliard of the Oakland Police Department. Officer Taylor testified that he had the premises under surveillance for about a month, that he saw known users of narcotics frequenting them, and that on June 23rd he and Officer Hilliard arrived at their lookout a few minutes before Cleek and Davis left defendant's home. Davis told the officers that he had beent to defendant's home and had taken a shot of heroin Officer Taylor and Davis then went to defendant's door and knocked. Officer Taylor heard a male voice say, 'Wait a mimute' and also heard the sound of retreating footsteps. He kicked the door open and rushed

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to the kitchen where he saw defendant with a spoon in his hand running toward the bedroom. He grappled with defendant, who threw the spoon into the bedroom. He found a small parcel containing two hypodermic needles, a syringe, and an eye dropper on the kitchen table. There were traces of heroin on the spoon. Within two hours after the officers arrived, seven persons came to the premises, five were known to Officer Taylor as narcotics users, and a sixth had needle marks on his arm.

Defendant testified in his own behalf and denied that he had sold heroin to Cleek or Davis or had ever had heroin in his possession. Cleek was a friend of his who visited him that day for a friendly conversation, and Davis came to discuss a new fender for defendant's car. After Cleek and Davis left, defendant discovered the parcel on the kitchen table and concluded that one of his visitors had left it. He [46 Cal.2d 304] denied any knowledge of the spoon or having it in his hand when Officer Taylor entered.

Defendant contends that the spoon and hypodermic equipment were illegally obtained and therefore inadmissible. The Attorney General contends that the officers had reasonable cause to arrest defendant for the commission of a felony, that they could lawfully enter his premises to make the arrest, and that the seizure of the evidence was lawful as an incident to the arrest. He also contends that since no objecion was made in the trial court, the admissibility of the evidence cannot be challenged for the first time on appeal.

This case was tried before the decision in People v. Cahan, 44 Cal.2d 434, 282 P.2d 905. We held in People v. Kitchens, Cal.Sup., 294 P.2d 17, that the rule that the...