Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Court Overturns Drug Conviction

An appellate court Thursday overturned the drug conviction of a Southern California woman because an undercover agent for the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement illegally entered a Santa Ana hotel room to arrest her in 1986.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana ruled that the agent failed to adequately explain to the defendant, Maria Chavez of San Diego, why he wanted to enter the room. The court decision allows Chavez to retract her guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and sale and possession of cocaine.

If Chavez decides to now plead not guilty, Orange County prosecutors would have to either retry or drop her case.

The appellate justices said Chavez was apparently just “along for the ride” when she was arrested Aug. 26, 1986, in a room at the Vagabond Hotel in Santa Ana. At the time, she was with several men who had allegedly offered to sell 5 kilos of cocaine to an undercover agent.

Carrying out that arrest, narcotic bureau agent Fulgencio Vasquez hit the hotel door with the butt of his pistol, knocking it open, and yelled “Police!” in both English and Spanish. Entering the room, Vasquez arrested and handcuffed Chavez and two men and retrieved the cocaine.

But the appellate court ruled that arrest improper because the agent did not announce his purpose upon entering, as required by the penal code. And the justices said there was no known danger inside the room to justify bypassing that announcement.

The penal code holds that a police officer may only break open the door of a suspect “after having demanded admittance and explained the purpose for which admittance is desired.” The court opinion did not suggest specific language that the agent should have used.