Larry D. Gaines v. Walter E. Craven

Larry D. Gaines, a state prisoner, appeals from a District Court order, following an evidentiary hearing, denying his application for a writ of habeas corpus. We affirm.

The facts, as found by the District Court, agree with those stated in People v. Gaines, 265 Cal.App.2d 642 , 71 Cal. Rptr. 468 (1968), which affirmed appellant’s conviction. Briefly, appellant, a suspected narcotics user, was confronted by a police officer as he (appellant) emerged from an apartment where the police had an unconfirmed tip narcotics were being sold. Seeing the policeman, appellant threw a package back through the open apartment door. The officer rushed into the apartment before the door could be closed and retrieved the package which was found to contain heroin. Appellant was arrested, tried, and found guilty of possessing heroin.

Appellant argues that the hallway confrontation by the police officer was a “seizure” of his person under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19 , 88 S.Ct. 1868 , 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Assuming this to be true, the officer testified that his sole purpose in stopping appellant was to ask a few questions. Since we have held that a well-founded suspicion is all that is necessary…