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P. v. Solares

P. v. Solares
02:28:2007

P


P. v. Solares


Filed 2/7/07  P. v. Solares CA2/6


NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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


SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT


DIVISION SIX







THE PEOPLE,


    Plaintiff and Respondent,


v.


MENAHEM ROBERTO SOLARES,


    Defendant and Appellant.



2d Crim. No. B190583


(Super. Ct. No. 2005023169)


(Ventura County)



                        Menahem Roberto Solares appeals a judgment of conviction entered after the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence, and he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale (Health & Saf. Code, §  11378).  We affirm.


FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY


                        At approximately 8:49 p.m. on July 11, 2005, Oxnard Police Officer Jason Radcliffe responded to a dispatch call regarding a possible fight in the area of Etting and Olds Roads.  As he was approaching that location, dispatch informed him that " a caller had stated that there was a possible fight in the area and that they believed they had heard gunshots." [1]  When the officer arrived at that location, no one was there.  As he continued down Etting Road, he saw a Ford Explorer and Chrysler Sebring parked by the side of the road near the dead-end, which is approximately a quarter mile from the intersection and is surrounded by farmland.  The officer could see that both vehicles were occupied, and thought it " unusual" that anyone would be in that area at night. 


                        Believing that the occupants of the vehicles might be the individuals referred to in the dispatch call and that they might be armed, Officer Radcliffe stopped his patrol car approximately 20 to 30 yards away and waited for backup in order to conduct an investigative stop.  Shortly thereafter, Officer Christopher Peters responded to the scene and parked behind Officer Radcliffe's car.  Officer Peters had received a dispatch call of possible shots fired in the area of either Olds and Etting Roads or Olds and Pleasant Valley Roads, which is one block away.  Officer York also responded to the scene in his patrol car. 


                        While standing back by their patrol cars, the officers called out to the occupants of the Explorer and Sebring.  In compliance with the officers' commands, the four occupants of the Explorer exited the vehicle, one by one, and walked toward the officers with their hands up.  One of the occupants " fluttered" his hands and yelled profanities at the officers; all four were belligerent and visibly drunk.  Each was patted down for weapons, and none was found.  The two occupants of the Sebring, including Solares, who was seated in the driver's seat, were then called out and complied with the officers' orders to walk toward them with their hands up.  Both were patted down as well, and no guns or other weapons were recovered. 


                        As Solares stood to the rear of Officer Peters' vehicle, the officer asked him whether there were any guns in his car.  Solares responded, " No."   Officer Peters then asked Solares for permission to search the car, to which Solares responded, " There are no guns in my car."   The officer told Solares about the call of possible shots fired in the area, and Solares again stated that there were no guns in his car.  According to Officer Peters, Solares was " very nervous" and " appeared adamant that there were no guns in the car."   When the officer asked whether he could search the car for guns only, Solares told him, " Yes."  


                        As Officer Peters approached the driver's door of the Sebring, he smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the open window.  He also saw a small Ziploc-sized baggie of marijuana and a scale in plain view on the front passenger seat.  In subsequently searching the car, the officer found 16 small bags of methamphetamine weighing a total of 23.08 grams, digital scales, a pipe, and $209 in cash.  No weapons were found. 


DISCUSSION


                        Solares contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the methamphetamine found in his car as the fruit of an unlawful detention.  According to Solares, the officers who ordered him out of his car lacked reasonable suspicion to do so because " [t]he only connection between appellant and the reported crime or crimes was that he was physically present within [a] quarter-mile to half-mile vicinity of the reported illegal activity."   We disagree.   


                        " A detention is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when the detaining officer can point to specific articulable facts that, considered in light of the totality of the circumstances, provide some objective manifestation that the person detained may be involved in criminal activity."   (People v. Souza (1994) 9 Cal.4th 224, 231.)  In reviewing the trial court's finding that the detention of Solares was reasonable, we consider " the whole picture" to evaluate whether the detaining officer had " a particularized and objective basis" that Solares was or had engaged in criminal activity.  (United States v. Cortez (1981) 449 U.S. 411, 417-418.)  In making this determination, we exercise our independent judgment.  (People v. Glaser (1995) 11 Cal.4th 354, 362.)


                        Based on the totality of the circumstances, the officers involved in Solares's detention had an objectively reasonable basis for believing that he was involved in the reported incidents.  After finding no one in the area of the intersection of Etting and Olds, Officer Radcliffe continued traveling down the street and discovered two occupied vehicles parked at a dead-end approximately a quarter-mile away.  Although he did not recall the dispatcher referring to any vehicles, an objectively reasonable officer could assume that the individuals involved in the reported fight had driven to the location because there are no homes or businesses there.  Moreover, Officer Radcliffe had patrolled the area before and found it unusual for anyone to be parked in this remote area at night.  As the People correctly note, " officers are not required to ignore the relevant characteristics of a location in determining whether the circumstances are sufficiently suspicious to warrant further investigation."   (Illinois v. Wardlow (2000) 528 U.S. 119, 124.)  Based on these facts, the officers who responded to the scene were justified in entertaining a reasonable suspicion that the parked cars were occupied by the individuals involved in the reported fight, and that they were armed.  Accordingly, Solares's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated when the officers ordered him out of his car for further investigation.  Because Solares does not challenge the subsequent search of his car pursuant to his detention, his motion to suppress the evidence discovered during that search was properly denied.  


                        The judgment is affirmed.


                        NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.


                                                                        PERREN, J.


We concur:


                        GILBERT, P.J.


                        COFFEE, J.



Charles R. McGrath, Judge


Superior Court County of Ventura


______________________________


                        Lyn A. Woodward, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.


                        Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Mary Jo Graves, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Susan D. Martynec, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Marc E. Turchin, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.


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[1] The Oxnard Police Department received a total of four calls regarding the incident.  The first call reporting shots came at 9:08 p.m. from 3600 Etting Road, which is approximately a half mile from the intersection of Etting and Olds. 






Description Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction entered after the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence, and he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale (Health and Saf. Code, S 11378). Court affirm.
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