P. v. Lamb

Filed 2/8/07  P. v. Lamb CA6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b).  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

 IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE,                                                                       H029928

                        Plaintiff and Respondent,                             (Santa Clara County

                                                                                                 Superior Court

            v.                                                                                 No. CC507213)

JEFFREY BRIAN LAMB,

                        Defendant and Appellant.

_____________________________________/

            After his suppression motion was denied, defendant pleaded no contest to possession of a firearm by a felon (Pen. Code, § 12021, subd. (a)(1)) and possession of ammunition by a felon (Pen. Code, § 12316, subd. (b)), and he admitted that he had served prison terms for two prior felony convictions (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)).  He was sentenced to an agreed term of two years in prison.  On appeal, defendant claims that his suppression motion should have been granted because the parole search that led to the charges included a search of the closet of a bedroom in which he did not reside.  We conclude that the superior court did not err in concluding that the searching officers reasonably believed that defendant had access to the closet, and therefore the search of the closet did not exceed the proper scope of a parole search.  We affirm the judgment.

I.  Factual Background

            On October 5, 2005, Los Altos police officer Scott Sweezey, defendant's parole agent, and other officers conducted a parole search at the two-bedroom house in San Jose that defendant, who was on searchable parole, shared with Constance Novak.  Sweezey had learned that defendant had purchased a stolen generator from the man who had stolen it and that the transaction had occurred at defendant's San Jose home. 

            Sweezey knocked on the front door of defendant's house and announced that it was the police, but no one came to the door.  He heard movement inside the house.  Sweezey went around to the back of the house and opened an unlocked door to the garage and then was able to enter the house through an interior door.  Defendant, Novak and another adult woman were standing in a hallway of the house.  The officers detained these three individuals and conducted a sweep of the house, including both bedrooms, to ensure that there were not any other individuals in the house.

            One of the bedrooms appeared to be defendant's bedroom.  The second bedroom appeared to be an unoccupied child's bedroom.  It contained a child's bed, stuffed animals, a dress, suitcases and â€