People v. Henderson
Opinion
Opinion
Huffman, J.
Michael Ray Henderson appeals from his judgment of conviction entered after the court denied his pretrial motion to suppress evidence under Penal Code section 1538.5 and he pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine (meth) (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379.6, subd. (a)). We have determined the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress. While the court properly concluded the police had consent to enter the premises here to find a clandestine meth laboratory, it prematurely denied the motion without analyzing the legality and effect of video surveillance. We thus reverse and remand the matter for further consideration of the suppression issue.
I
Factual and Procedural Background
At the end of June 1987, Larry Joseph Hake was approached by his ex-brother-in-law, Charles Allen Bub, about using Hake’s Palm Springs condominium (condo) to manufacture some meth. Bub did not know Hake had been working periodically over the previous two years for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as an informant infiltrating illegal drug laboratory rings. Bub indicated he would need the condo for only three or four days and, in exchange, would give Hake some of the meth he produced. He…