Piedra

Defendant was convicted of the unlawful possession of heroin, a narcotic. He was sentenced to the state prison for the terms prescribed by law. He has appealed from the judgment and sentence.

On the morning of June 24, 1959, Officers Dorrell and Pesler went to an apartment building at 1237 South Alvarado, in Los Angeles, to determine whether defendant lived there. They were informed by the landlady that defendant was living in an apartment upstairs. While they were still in the hallway, not far from the front door of the apartment house and preparing to leave, Officer Dorrell saw the defendant run up the front steps, open the door, which was curtained making it difficult to see through, and walk rapidly into the hallway. When the defendant had reached a point 6 or 8 feet into the hallway, Officer Pesler said to him, “Hello, Rudy.” Defendant looked in the officers’ direction, stopped, and dropped a cellophane bindle from his right hand to the floor. It landed 6 or 8 inches from defendant’s feet. Officer Dorrell picked it up. Upon examination by a qualified forensic expert it was found to contain heroin. The officers had neither a search warrant nor a warrant for defendant’s…