People v. BuckmanPeople v. Buckman
Appellants Drugan, Chernoek and LaCroix, with codefendants Reynolds and Buckman, were variously charged in four counts alleging conspiracy to commit, and violations of, the bookmaking statute. Count I charged all defendants except LaCroix with conspiracy to violate section 337a, subdivisions 1, 2 and 4, Penal Code, alleging four overt acts—occupancy of premises at—915 North Sycamore Avenue by Reynolds (No. 1), 5407 Sierra Vista Street by Buckman (No. 2), 7465 Hawthorne Avenue by Chernoek (No. 3), and 3200 West Beverly Boulevard by Drugan (No. 4), with bookmaking paraphernalia for the purpose of recording or registering bets. Counts II and III charged Buckman, Reynolds, Chernoek and Drugan with bookmaking (
Because of the conspiracy charge (Count I), we relate the evidence in considerable detail. Relying on anonymous information that bets were being accepted by one “Ray” Drugan, whose telephone number was DUnkirk 5-3294, at his garage, 3200 Beverly Boulevard and that he was forwarding them to HOllywood 2-8725, and on the result of an investigation showing Drugan to have the Dunkirk number, Officer Konstanturos and his partner, both experienced officers and experts in the manner and means of bookmaking as commonly conducted in Los Angeles, went to Drugan’s garage on August 11,1959, around 1:15 p.m. Konstanturos told him a complaint had been received that he was accepting and forwarding bets. Drugan denied he was a bookie but admitted he played the horses; and, handing the officer a piece of paper consisting of a betting marker bearing ink notations (Exhibit 1) which he took from his right front shirt pocket, said: “As a matter of fact, here are the horses I played this last Saturday. ’ ’ The notations represented the names of horses and wagers placed on them. “Chris” and “Don” appeared after some of the bets; Drugan said they were close friends with whom he had “gone in on” several bets which he forwarded to his bookie. The horses listed in Exhibit 1 ran at Del Mar and Washington Park on August 8. Asked by the officer if they could search the premises, Drugan said, “Sure, go ahead. You will
Simultaneous with the officer’s visit to Drugan, and having previously ascertained that HOllywood 2-8725 belonged to George Buekman at 5407 Sierra Vista Street, a policewoman and four officers went to that location where she situated herself in a telephone booth in a drug store and the others in various positions between there and the apartment house. The policewoman called the Hollywood number which was answered by a male voice. She said, ‘ ‘ This is Charlene for Duke ... I would like to place these bets ... $3 in the fifth race on ‘Purple People’ and in the sixth race one across on ‘Golden Emblem’ and in the seventh race one across on ‘Father John’ ”; he answered, “Okay” and hung up. Keeping the telephone open, she signaled his acceptance of the bets to the chain of officers, and the last one entered the building. A few seconds later she heard the officer’s voice on the telephone. Upon entering the building at 5407 Sierra Vista the officer knocked loudly on the door of the apartment belonging to George Buekman declaring he was a police officer and demanding admittance; he heard a loud thump from within and forced entry. He saw Buekman standing in the kitchen with his back to him, a telephone, and a large piece of white f OTmica (Exhibit 4) which Buekman was busily rubbing with a wet rag. Moving Buekman away the officer saw on the table near
OL 4-3131, given to the police officer by “Lefty” as his number over Buckman’s telephone was that of the Universal Lumber Company at 915 North Sycamore. Two officers went to that location; one called the number on the telephone across the street. A female voice identifying the Universal Lumber Company answered. The officer asked for “Lefty,” and shortly spoke to the same male voice he had heard on Buckmán’s telephone, who at the time identified himself as “Lefty.” The officer then relayed several bets to “Lefty,” signaled to his partner that “Lefty” was taking them, and the officer entered the building. The first officer continued to
NO 5-2201, obtained by the Officer over Buckman’s telephone from one identifying himself as “Sam,” belonged to the Hollywood and Sunset Top Shop at 4501 Sunset Boulevard. The officers proceeded to that location; one telephoned the number and asked for “Sam,” and was told by a male voice that Sam had gone home, but that “his partner, Tony, is here. You had better talk to him.” Tony then spoke to the officer, who told him his name was “George,” he was the phone spot operator, he was to call Sam, and he had a lot of action. Tony said, “You mean bets?” the officer said “yes,” and Tony replied, “Well, give them to me.” The officer did so and signaled the other officer that Tony was taking the bets; the next voice heard on the telephone was that of the officer. The latter seeing the signal, entered the premises and observed Anthony Louis LaCroix seated at a desk listening to the telephone and writing on a piece of paper, a betting marker (Exhibit 7). LaCroix said he did not take action at that location but someone called and he was writing down bets to give to Sam; that Sam’s telephone was HO 9-1659 and his address was 7465 Hawthorne; and that he was not a bookmaker and had no knowledge of Sam’s being one.
Three officers immediately proceeded to 7465 Hawthorne Avenue; one called HO 9-1659. A female voice answered the telephone; the officer asked for Sam; shortly he heard a male voice say, “Hello, this is Sam”; the officer said, “This is George, the phone spot operator. Has the office called you yet?” . . . and he had some action to get rid of; and, Sam said, “Give it to
me.”
The officer gave some
bets to
Sam and signaled the other officers who entered the premises. They observed Sam Chernoek seated talking on the telephone and writing on a piece of paper, a betting marker (Exhibit 8). Chernoek told the officers he was not a bookmaker but a bettor and he was just taking a bet for a friend; that he phoned his action to HO 2-8725 (George Buckman’s number)
At the trial, Drugan testified that he was in the automotive repair business, did not make any bets on August 11, had made some a week or 10 days before for himself, does not know any of the other defendants and did not talk to a person named “Lefty”; Reynolds testified he is an accountant for Universal Lumber Co., is not referred to as “Duke” but is called “Lefty,” knows Chernock, played the horses, called a number August 11th to place a bet and a voice answered they were having a little trouble so he left his office number, later received a call, the party told him he wanted him to write down some information—names of people, horses and bets— and while he was doing so an officer came in and arrested him, and he did not realize what he was doing and “was more or less helping out . . . ”; LaCroix testified he is a former Louisiana policeman, answered a telephone call August 11 and took a message that the caller asked him to write down and give to “Sam” as a tip, and he knows none of the defendants except Sam Chernock; and Chernock testified that he knows only LaCroix and Reynolds, has never taken a bet from anyone for the purpose of recording it with a bookie, on August 11 he received a call from a man who said he lmew a friend of his, had a tip and to write it down, and as he was doing so he was arrested. Buckman did not testify.
Appellant Drugan urges that there is no evidence that he ever conspired with his eodefendants, and in any event could not have done so since he knew none of them, placed no bets with them and no act was done in concert with any of them. He further argues that inasmuch as evidence of the anonymous information that he was accepting bets at the Dunkirk number on Beverly Boulevard and forwarding them to the Hollywood number (admitted only to establish probable cause) and of the telephone call received by the officer at the Hollywood (Buckman’s) number informing him that “Ray” had been arrested with a whole string of bets in his pocket was hearsay and cannot be used against him, he did not make the statement to the officer that he recognized the telephone voice of “Lefty” as his bookie, and even if he did it was not connected up with the conspiracy, and there is no proof he occupied the premises with bookmaking paraphernalia for the purpose of recording and registering bets—the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction under all counts. He offers little or no
Appellants Chernock and LaCroix contend that the evidence is insufficient to sustain their convictions in that there was no evidence of a union or joint operation of act and intent and no evidence to support any finding they engaged in bookmaking or received or recorded bets; that they were entrapped by the officers; that the conspiracy expired with the arrest of the other defendants prior to their own; and that they were convicted upon one count which had previously been dismissed at the preliminary hearing constituting double jeopardy.
Properly eliminating from our consideration proof received for specific purposes not on the issue of guilt and against only certain defendants, and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment, we conclude that it is not only sufficient to support the conviction of each appellant on the separate violations alleged in Counts II, III and IV, but that it, with a certainty, demonstrates the guilt of Chernock and Drugan on the conspiracy charge by revealing—an incriminating chain of circumstances connecting all of the parties and their actions, proof of their obvious common purpose and plan to engage in illegal acts (
Appellants’ arguments are predicated mainly upon a favorable construction of the evidence viewed by them in a completely innocent light, and their acceptance of the defense testimony as true giving no recognition to the fundamental rule on appeal that this court must assume in favor of the judgment the existence of every fact reasonably deducible from the evidence and that before the judgment may be set aside it must appear that there is no substantial evidence, upon any hypothesis whatsoever, to support the conclusion reached in the court below.
(People
v.
Newland,
Relative to the conspiracy charge, it has long been established that direct evidence is not required to prove a
The pattern or mode of operation of the business carried on by defendants and the purpose of their activities; the chain of circumstances revealing, among other things, various interconnected telephone numbers, common and known references to “Sam” (Chernock), “Lefty” (Reynolds), and “Ray” (Drugan), defendants’ conduct just prior to and at the time of their arrests, articles commonly constituting bookmaking paraphernalia found in their possession (some of which were then in use by defendants), the nature of the transactions involved, and defendants’ admissions more than warranted the trial court’s finding that a plan and agreement existed and that the acts performed by each were in accord with, and in furtherance of, their unlawful plan and purpose.
(People
v.
Robinson,
Nor do we find merit in appellant Chernock’s contention that the conspiracy expired with the arrest of the other defendants prior to his arrest, excluding against him any evidence of his codefendants in furtherance of the conspiracy. It is well settled that the law fixes no time for the termination of a conspiracy.
(People
v.
Griffin,
As to the extent of their activities in the business
The claim of Chernock and LaCroix that they were entrapped by police officers cannot be sustained under California law. In the case of LaCroix the police officer told him over the telephone his name was George, that he was the phone spot operator and was to call “Sam,” and that he had a lot of action. Upon responding in the affirmative to LaCroix’ question concerning whether he meant “bets,” LaCroix said to the officer without any solicitation or request on the latter’s part, “Well, give them to me”; and the officer did so. It is obvious from the evidence that when the officer called NO 5-2201 he intended to, and believed that he would, talk to “Sam.” There is no evidence that the officer had any prior knowledge of LaCroix or even desired to speak to him on the telephone, much less entrap him into taking a wager. The voice answering the number called by the officer informed him that Sam’s partner Tony was there and that he had better talk to him. The officer had no choice in the matter, for immediately LaCroix’ voice was heard. Had the first voice not volunteered the information that Tony was there and that he had better talk to him, and had he not relinquished the telephone to LaCroix, the officer probably would have hung up; but, confronted with the voice of “Sam’s partner” the officer seized the opportunity and announced to him that he had a lot of action. True he was not George, he was not a phone spot operator and he was not asked to call Sam; but the officer did not ask LaCroix to take his action. LaCroix volunteered his willingness to accept the bets.
Similarly the officer told Sam Chernock, “This is George, the phone spot operator. Has the office called you yet ? ”; and that he had some action to get rid of. This also was untrue in fact, but again the officer did not ask Sam to take the action. Chernock volunteered, “Give it to me”; whereupon the officer did so.
Plainly this evidence has none of the elements of entrapment; on the contrary, it reveals an opportunity created by the defendants themselves for the officers to give them bets
The assertion of Chernock and LaCroix that they have been placed in double jeopardy because they were tried and convicted in the superior court on a count which was dismissed at the preliminary hearing, is predicated upon an alleged inconsistency between the numbered counts in the complaint and those in the information. Since the original complaint before the committing magistrate is not a part of this record and the latter does not give sufficient information concerning the numbered counts of the complaint, of what
For the foregoing reasons the judgment and order are affirmed.
Wood, P. J., and Fourt, J., concurred.