P. v. Hedrington
Filed 3/1/06 P. v. Hedrington CA3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
(Sacramento)
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ESMOND B. HEDRINGTON, Defendant and Appellant. | C050122
(Super. Ct. No. 05F00209)
|
Defendant Esmond B. Hedrington pled nolo contendere to possessing cocaine base after the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence on the ground the traffic stop preceding his arrest was unlawful.
We agree with defendant that he was unlawfully detained because there was insufficient evidence to suspect the driver of the car was guilty of a Vehicle Code violation. We shall reverse the judgment.
BACKGROUND
At about 9:30 p.m. on January 5, 2005, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies Christopher Maher and Kevin Givens were in an undercover pickup truck near the intersection of Auburn Boulevard and Fulton Avenue. They noticed a dark Cadillac with a Nevada license plate and followed it at a distance of about five or six feet. They saw that the vehicle had an â€
