People v. Torres

• Decision Date: 16 November 1961
• Docket Number: Cr. 6908
• Citation: 17 Cal.Rptr. 495,56 Cal.2d 864,366 P.2d 823
• Parties: , 366 P.2d 823 PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Freddie Regaldo TORRES, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: California Supreme Court

Page 495

17 Cal.Rptr. 495

56 Cal.2d 864, 366 P.2d 823

PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Freddie Regaldo TORRES, Defendant and Appellant.

Cr. 6908.

Supreme Court of California, In Bank.

Nov. 16, 1961.

Russell E. Parsons, Los Angeles, for defendant and appellant.

Stanley Mosk, Atty. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty. Gen., and George W. Kell, Deputy Atty. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

GIBSON, Chief Justice.

The court, sitting without a jury, found defendant guilty of possessing narcotics in violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code, and he appeals, contending that illegally obtained evidence was used against him.

Officer Walsh, a member of the narcotics division of the Los Angeles Police Department, testified that he observed defendant in the vicinity of 3rd and Hill Streets in Los Angeles, an area 'having some frequency of narcotic activity,' and 'a known hangout for narcotic users and pushers.' He also saw defendant drive an automobile to 6th and Alvarado Streets accompanied by two persons who got out of the car, entered a drugstore located there, and purchased some milk sugar and gelatin capsules. Six days later, Walsh and four other officers saw a known user of narcotics leave defendant's apartment, the location of which they had previously ascertained. They immediately went into the apartment building and stood outside defendant's door for 15 or 20 minutes without knocking or attempting to enter. While they were standing there, the door was opened by defendant's wife, and the officers, seeing defendant in the room a few feet from her, identified themselves as policemen and stepped into the apartment. A woman ran in the direction of the bathroom and Walsh, who followed her there, discovered several capsules in the toilet with white powder in them, later identified as heroin, and some cups on the edge of the bathtub which also contained heroin. Walsh then arrested defendant, who stated that he had acquired the narcotics that afternoon. At that trial the narcotics were admitted into evidence over defendant's objection. The officers did not have a search warrant or a warrant of arrest.

A search without a warrant is proper where it is incident to a lawful arrest based on reasonable cause to believe that the accused has committed a felony. Such a search is not rendered unlawful merely because it precedes rather than follows the arrest. (People v. Hammond, 54 Cal.2d 846, 853, 9 Cal.Rptr. 233, 357 P.2d 289; People v. Ingle, 53 Cal.2d 407, 413, 2 Cal.Rptr. 14, 348 P.2d 577.) Reasonable or probable cause is shown if a man of ordinary care and prudence would be led to believe and conscientiously entertain an honest and strong suspicion that the accused is guilty. The test is not whether the facts on which the officer relies are sufficient to convict, but only whether the person should stand trial. (People v. Ingle, 53 Cal.2d 407, 412-413, 2 Cal.Rptr. 14, 348 P.2d 577; People v. Fischer, 49 Cal.2d 442, 446, 317 P.2d 967).

As we have seen, before the officers entered defendant's apartment they knew that he had been in an area which was a 'hangout' for users and sellers of narcotics, that he drove two men to a drugstore who purchased milk sugar and gelatin capsules, and that a known addict had visited his apartment. While the only evidence connecting the substances purchased at the drugstore with the preparation of narcotics is that the capsules in the present case had heroin in them, many cases indicate that capsules are used as containers for heroin (see e. g., People v. Salcido, 154 Cal.App.2d 520, 521, 316 P.2d 639; People v. Ruiz, 146 Cal.App.2d 630, 632, 304 P.2d 175; People v. Bigelow, 104 Cal.App.2d 380, 384, 231 P.2d 881; People v. Shafer, 101 Cal.App.2d 54, 56-57, 224 P.2d 778), and others state that milk surgar...