Stewart

Having been found guilty by a jury of possession of marijuana (in violation of Health & Saf. Code, § 11530), defendant appeals from the judgment of conviction entered upon this verdict. Defendant contends that the judgment should be reversed because (1) his arrest was unlawful and therefore the packet of marijuana cigarettes which the officers of the police and sheriff’s departments discovered in the patrol car used to transport defendant to the sheriff’s office following his arrest was erroneously admitted into evidence; (2) the trial court erred in admitting into evidence facts relating to a prior arrest of defendant; and (3) the jury was improperly instructed in several respects. We have concluded that defendant’s first contention is meritorious and that therefore the judgment should be reversed.

Among the evidence introduced at defendant’s trial was a packet of four marijuana cigarettes discovered by Deputy Sheriff Smith of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office in the patrol car which was used to transport defendant to the sheriff’s office following defendant’s arrest on the evening of December 3, 1964. Defendant objected to the admission of this evidence on the basis that it…