P. v. Yim CA5
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kings County. Randy L. Edwards, Judge.
Keith Fagundes, District Attorney, and Louis D. Torch, Assistant District Attorney, for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Elizabeth Campbell, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Respondent.
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During a traffic stop, a police officer detained Aaron Sung Min Yim (defendant) and conducted a warrantless search of his vehicle. The search yielded a firearm, cocaine, and a quantity of marijuana exceeding the legal limit for personal possession. The officer believed he had probable cause to search the vehicle based on the odor of marijuana therein and on defendant.
Defendant unsuccessfully moved to suppress the fruits of the search under Penal Code section 1538.5. The magistrate ruled there was probable cause to search based on the odor of marijuana and defendant’s admission of having “recently” smoked marijuana.
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