McCarthy

Appellants have appealed their convictions of possession of over one-half ounce of heroin on the ground that the identity of an informant was improperly withheld and that a search warrant had become stale.

On January 23, 1976, an Oakland police officer, Gary Haywood, obtained a search warrant authorizing the search of the person of Dorothy McCarthy and the premises of 866 30th Street, Oakland, California. The warrant was served on January 27, 1976.

When Officer Haywood arrived at the house on 866 30th Street, he knocked and in response to a male voice who asked, “[w]ho is it,” he stated, “the police with a search warrant, ‘[o]pen the door immediately.’ ” The officer then heard a male voice in the house state, “[i]t is the police” and footsteps running away from the door. He yelled again that he was a police officer with a search warrant and demanded the door be opened. He waited about five seconds and then, fearing that any contraband inside the residence would be destroyed, forced the door open. Upon entering, the officer observed appellant Richard Neal, whom he recognized from prior occasions, moving forward to the rear of the house. He pursued Mr. Neal into the…