People v. Clark

Defendant Melvin Clark has appealed from a judgment committing him to prison for burglary of which he had been found guilty by a jury which found him guilty also of forcible rape, the crime for which the burglarious entry was made. Execution of the sentence on the rape charge was suspended.

The crimes of which defendant was found guilty were committed on September 25, 1971. His connection with the crimes was established by evidence that palm prints found on a window in the apartment of the victim were those of defendant.

That identity was discovered after defendant’s prints were taken following his arrest on October 3.

Defendant’s chief contention is that his arrest on October 3 was unlawful and the taking of his fingerprints during his detention was therefore an unreasonable search under the doctrine of Davis v. Mississippi, 394 U.S. 721 [ 22 L.Ed.2d 676 , 89 S.Ct. 1394 ].

He was arrested near Cedar Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in downtown San Diego.

In the block bounded by Cedar Street on the south, Date Street on the north, Eighth Avenue on the west and Ninth Avenue on the east, is the one-story Belmár Hotel at the southeast comer of the block; at the…