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406 S.W.2d 443

Kirby v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Decided October 5, 1966

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas · decided 1966-10-05

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently February 1973

2 federal appellate · 1 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1966-10-05

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¶1OPINION

WOODLEY, Judge.

¶2The offense is the unlawful possession of heroin; the punishment, 15 years.

¶3Sentence was pronounced and notice of appeal given on December 30, 1965.

¶4The evidence admitted to the jury shows that A. L. Edwards, Detective for the City of Dallas, and his partner, Detective J. R. Helm, obtained a warrant to search an apartment in Irving, Dallas County. Accompanied by other Dallas police officers, they went to the Police Department in Irving where they were joined by Irving Police Detective John W. Looper and they proceeded to the apartment.

¶5No one answered when they knocked. Officer Looper then went to the manager of the apartments and obtained a key. The officers then entered and searched the apartment.

¶6While the search was in progress appellant came to the apartment, inserted a key in the door lock and entered. He was stopped by the officers as he started back out the door, at which time Detective Edwards saw a disposable hypodermic syringe in his shirt pocket.

¶7Upon searching appellant, Detective Edwards found four capsules in his shirt pocket.

¶8The content of one of the capsules was shown by chemical analysis to be heroin.

¶9We do not agree with appellant’s contention that the arrest and search of appellant were unlawful. In the execution of the search warrant the Dallas officers acted with an officer of the City of Irving.

¶10Dallas Detective A. L. Edwards, who made the arrest and found the heroin in appellant’s pocket, testified in the jury’s absence that he saw a hypodermic syringe in appellant’s pocket; that he observed appellant and formed the opinion that he was under the influence of narcotics and there was what appeared to be a fresh “needle track” on his arm, and that appellant told him “he just fixed” the capsule that was almost empty — meaning “he had shot' it into his arm.” .

¶11Officer Edwards further testified that he gave the search warrant to Irving Detective Looper before the apartment was entered and got it back and showed it to appellant immediately after his entrance into the house.

¶12 The trial court did not err in admitting the evidence obtained as the result of the arrest and search of appellant.

¶13The evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction and no reversible error appears in the record.

¶14The judgment is affirmed.

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