P. v. Jones
A jury found Rodney Jammal Jones not guilty of possession of cocaine base for the purpose of sale. Jones was convicted of the lesser offense of possession of cocaine base. (Health & Saf. Code, 11350, subd. (a).) Additionally, Jones was found guilty of transporting cocaine base. (Health & Saf. Code, 11352, subd. (a).) Jones was sentenced to three years' probation and was ordered to serve 90 days in county jail. Jones appeals, contending the lower court erred when it denied his Penal Code section 1538.5[1] motion to suppress evidence because the police lacked consent to conduct a patdown search that resulted in discovery of the cocaine base that was the basis of his conviction. Jones also contends that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to renew at trial the motion to suppress that was only made at the preliminary hearing, thus precluding reconsideration of the motion at trial and on appeal. We conclude Jones's failure to renew his section 1538.5 motion precludes appellate review. However, because it is necessary to determine the legality of the search in order to determine whether counsel was constitutionally ineffective, we shall address the merits of the court's denial of Jones's motion to suppress. Court conclude trial counsel was not constitutionally ineffective for failing to renew the motion in at trial because the judge properly denied the section 1538.5 motion to suppress at the preliminary hearing.
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