In re L.G.

Filed 2/11/25 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

In re L.G., a Person Coming B331298 Under the Juvenile Court Law. ______________________________ Los Angeles County PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF Super. Ct. No. LB0086A CALIFORNIA,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

L.G.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, John C. Lawson, II, Judge. Reversed and remanded with instructions. Steven A. Torres, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews and Ryan M. Smith, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________

We suppress evidence from an illegal search. Officer Victor Quezada was driving his partner Officer Diego Millan in a marked cruiser. As uniformed members of a gang detail, Quezada and Millan were patrolling Harbor City Crips gang territory after dark. Millan had arrested an unrelated person for a gun crime in this area about a month earlier. Millan saw three young men standing on a sidewalk and recognized one—Nathan Cazares—as a Harbor City Crips member. Quezada drove to the three, turning the cruiser so he was close to them. Parked cars separated the cruiser from the group. The officers stayed in their car. With the window down, Quezada tried to engage the three in conversation: where did they live, what were they doing there, and so forth. Two responded but L.G. did not. L.G. was 15 years old. About twenty seconds into Quezada’s questioning of the group, Millan shined his flashlight on them. Quezada directed questions at L.G. specifically. L.G. did not respond. L.G. did not look at the officers. Rather, he looked sideways and at the ground. This lack of eye contact “piqued” Millan’s interest. The whole interaction lasted “a little over a minute.” Quezada thought L.G. looked “nervous.” Quezada pulled forward a little and shifted from drive to park. Based on L.G.’s demeanor, Millan suspected L.G. was carrying illegal drugs or a gun. Quezada had the same reaction. The two officers decided to get out of the car to “conduct a narcotic or firearm investigation.” They were “trying to see if any