People v. Clark

Prior to March 12, 1968, police had received information from what was described by the arresting officer as a “reliable informant” that “Sycamore Sonny” was using and dealing in narcotics at 1801% Sycamore Avenue in Los Angeles. The informant had stated that the suspect drove a blue Cadillac. Armed with the information, officers staked out the four-unit apartment building in which 1801% Sycamore Avenue was located. On several occasions, they observed appellant leave the building and drive away in a blue Cadillac. On March 12, the officers saw two women go into the building and return from it. One of the officers overheard one of the women say that they were “hurting,” a word which in the parlance of the addict denotes the need for narcotics. The officers followed the women away from the building and stopped them. The women informed the officers that they were addicts and had gone to the building to obtain narcotics from appellant. The officers returned to their stakeout of the apartment building. On March 13, they saw appellant drive his blue Cadillac into the driveway of the building and park it there. The officers approached the car and told appellant not to move. They noticed…