Filed 12/22/05 P. v. Riddle CA2/4

 

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

 

 

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

 

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

 

DIVISION FOUR

 

 

 

THE PEOPLE,   Plaintiff and Respondent,   v.   JOHN WAYNE RIDDLE,   Defendant and Appellant.

B183670   (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PA048163)

 

 

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Charles L. Peven, Judge. Affirmed.

Jonathan B. Steiner and Richard L. Fitzer, under appointments by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Keith H. Borjon and Sharlene A. Honnaka, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Appellant John Wayne Riddle challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence. We affirm.

 

RELEVANT PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On September 16, 2004, an information was filed against appellant, charging him in count 1 with possession of cocaine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351); in count 2 with transporting cocaine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11352, subd. (a)); in count 3 with possession of methamphetamine for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11378); in count 4 with transportation of methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379, subd. (a); and in count 5 with control of a false compartment to conceal a controlled substance (Health and Saf. Code , § 11366.8, subd. (a).) In addition, the information alleged under counts 1 through 4 that appellant was personally armed with a firearm. (Pen. Code, § 12022, subd. (c).)

Appellant initially pleaded not guilty. After the trial court denied appellant's motion to suppress evidence (Pen. Code, § 1538.5), appellant pleaded nolo contendere to count 3 and admitted the firearm allegation pursuant to a plea agreement. The trial court subsequently sentenced appellant to a term of four years and four months in prison.

 

FACTS

The sole witness at the hearing on appellant's motion to suppress was LAPD Officer Benedict Fernandes, who testified as follows: He is a departmental expert in the possession and sale of illegal drugs, and has made several hundred arrests for drug-related offenses.

At 10:10 p.m. on June 29, 2004, Fernandes was in a patrol vehicle in a motel parking lot on Devonshire Street in Los Angeles. He saw appellant drive a Honda Accord into the parking lot, and he noticed that the Accord's rear lights were not working. Fernandes stopped appellant's vehicle and asked appellant for his driver license. When appellant replied that he did not have his license with him, Fernandes requested that appellant exit his car.

The area was dark, and appellant wore baggy clothes. According to Fernandes, he noticed a bulge in the right front pocket of appellant's pants. He conducted a pat-down search of appellant for weapons and a wallet. He started his search at appellant's waistband--where people commonly secure weapons--and moved to the lump in the right front pocket, which felt to him like a wad of money.

Fernandes then felt appellant's right rear pocket. To his touch, the pocket held a plastic baggy with a â€