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Name: People v. Gonzalez
Case #: A099987
Opinion Date: 03/24/2004
Division: 1
Citation: 116 Cal.App.4th 1405
Summary

Health and Safety Code section 11366.8, which prohibits possession of a false compartment with the intent to store or conceal a controlled substance, does not require evidence showing that the original compartment was modified or fabricated. The defendant here challenged his conviction under this section where the evidence showed that drugs were stored in the air conditioning vent and behind a speaker in a Ford Thunderbird. Because neither area was intended for storage, and because the air conditioning vent had been modified slightly, the court found that substantial evidence supported the defendant’s conviction under section 11366.8. The court further held that substantial evidence supported the finding of a weight enhancement as to another defendant, holding that the evidence showed that he was “substantially involved” in the drug conspiracy and not a merely tangential participant.