Bruce

Kenneth Robert Bruce appeals from a judgment of conviction, entered upon a guilty plea following the denial of his motion to suppress certain items seized by the police at the time of his arrest and a statement he made thereafter. The appeal lies. (Pen. Code, § 1538.5, subd. (m).)

Appellant contends tliat the trial court should have suppressed this evidence because the arresting officers acted without probable cause and failed to comply with the knock and notice requirements of Penal Code section 844.

Facts

About a week prior to the events at issue here, Sergeant Fred Cram of the sheriff’s department received a tip that someone was dismantling Volkswagens in a garage located at 4422 West Compton Boulevard in Lawndale. Deputy John Martin was dispatched to that location, but he observed nothing. The following night, Martin drove by to check the garage a second time, and again observed nothing. Regularly assigned patrol crews were also notified, but they, too, saw nothing unusual that week.

On January 14, 1974, Martin received an anonymous tip that someone was using a torch inside the garage to cut up a green Volkswagen. He, Cram, and several other deputies drove to the…