Opinion ID: 1378335
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Supplemental statement of facts.

Text: At approximately 2 a.m. on June 3, Santa Ana Police Officer Buckels was assigned to investigate the robbery/homicide at the Taco Bell. When he arrived at the scene, he was informed by Sergeant Hindman that the surviving victim had identified one of the robbers as appellant. A search of the employment records at the Taco Bell yielded two possible addresses: 1313 West Tolliver and the Santa Ana Hotel on North Main Street. Appellant's employment application also indicated that the person to contact in case of an emergency was Ruben Gaitan with an address of 1331 South Bristol. The apartment number was 23_, the third digit being illegible. After some preliminary investigation, Officer Buckels telephoned the Santa Ana Hotel and was informed by a hotel employee that appellant had checked out on May 31. Buckels then proceeded to 1313 West Tolliver at approximately 5 a.m. and questioned Joe Calderon and a Mr. Escamilla. Escamilla told Buckels that both appellant and Ruben Gaitan had lived at his residence for approximately one month after arriving in California from San Antonio, but that both had moved out two months earlier. Calderon stated that he had gone to school with appellant and Gaitan in San Antonio. He told Buckels that the two were close friends and would probably be found together. Gaitan, he explained, worked at the South Coast Plaza Hotel on Bristol, and both appellant and Gaitan were living in an apartment complex in the 3100 block of South Bristol on the east side of the street. Calderon could provide no specific address or apartment number. Calderon gave Buckels a description of Gaitan as a stocky, five-foot two-inch tall Mexican male, twenty to twenty five years old, clean shaven with collar length dark brown hair and a small tattoo between the thumb and forefinger of one hand. He mentioned that he had never seen either of the two with a rifle, but that Gaitan had told him that he had one. Calderon opined that if the two were in some sort of trouble, they would probably attempt to return to San Antonio. Buckels next went to the South Bristol apartment complex at shortly after 6 a.m. but was unable to locate either appellant's or Gaitan's name on any of the mailboxes. He then returned to police department headquarters and telephoned the apartment complex manager, who told him she might be able to help him locate the two individuals whom he described to her. Buckels then returned to the apartment complex with Sergeant Hindman at approximately 7 a.m. and contacted the manager. She explained that she believed the men he was looking for were in apartment number 231. She showed Buckels a copy of the rental application for the apartment which indicated that the tenants were named Zavala and Rubalcava. Both were listed as being employed at the South Coast Plaza Hotel. While Buckels was speaking with the manager, Hindman informed him that an individual matching the description of Ruben Gaitan had just emerged from apartment number 231 and was proceeding down the street. Hindman and Buckels caught up with the individual, advised him that they were police officers, and asked for identification. As the individual reached for his wallet, the officers observed a small tattoo between the thumb and forefinger. From the wallet he produced an identification card from the South Coast Plaza Hotel bearing the name Ruben Gaitan. In response to questioning, he informed Buckels that he lived in apartment number 231 and that appellant and Jose Zavala were currently in the apartment. Gaitan was then handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car. When other police officers, whom Sergeant Hindman had requested, arrived, Hindman and Officer Arango approached the front door of apartment number 231. One of the other officers informed them that someone was attempting to escape via the back window to the apartment. Hindman knocked on the door, advised the residents that he was a police officer, and told them to open the door. Officer Arango, who was bilingual, also repeated the advice in Spanish. Jose Zavala opened the door and Hindman observed appellant standing behind him, matching a description police had previously constructed from several sources. Both appellant and Zavala were handcuffed and the apartment checked for other occupants. When none were discovered, the apartment was secured so that a search warrant could be obtained. A telephone search warrant was issued by Judge Robert Knox of the West Orange County Municipal Court at 9:41 a.m. The affiant was Detective G.R. Clark of the Santa Ana Police Department. Detective Clark related the substance of the investigation which led to the arrest of appellant. Judge Knox concluded that this information constituted probable cause to search the premises at 3101 South Bristol, apartment number 231. The warrant authorized the seizure of items in eight separate categories: (1) guns, rifle and hand types, (2) clothing, (3) ammunition, (4) money, U.S. currency, (5) any Taco Bell papers or property, (6) personal papers of any individual, including Marcelino (NMN) Ramos inside the apartment, (7) bloody items of any type, clothing, papers, and money, (8) any papers, bills, letters addressed to occupants or visitors of this apartment. The warrant was executed by Officer Buckels in conjunction with another Santa Ana Police Department officer and two Orange County Sheriff's deputies. The return to the search warrant indicates that several hundred items were seized, although few were ever introduced in evidence against appellant. Appellant contends that the evidence seized pursuant to the warrant should have been suppressed on numerous grounds. He argues that the search was tainted by: (1) the illegal detention and arrest of Ruben Gaitan; (2) police violation of Penal Code section 844's knock-notice requirements; and (3) the illegal arrest of appellant in violation of People v. Ramey (1976) 16 Cal.3d 263 [127 Cal. Rptr. 629, 545 P.2d 1333]. Appellant also urges (4) that the search categories authorized by the warrant were broader than justified by the facts contained in the affidavit; (5) that items seized during the search exceeded the terms of the warrant and lacked any nexus to the crime under investigation; and (6) that the warrant was invalid because it was not signed by the magistrate prior to its execution. For the reasons stated below, we conclude that while some of appellant's arguments may have technical merit, he was not prejudiced by any of the claimed errors.