The People v. Jones CA5

Filed 8/28/13 P. v. Jones CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F064081 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF137356A) v.

CHARLES ALLEN JONES III, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. David R. Lampe, Judge.

Law Office of Gregory H. Mitts and Gregory H. Mitts for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Hokans and J. Robert Jibson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

*Before Cornell, Acting P.J., Gomes, J. and Peña, J.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORY Defendant Charles Allen Jones III was charged with arson of forest land (Pen. Code,1 § 451, subd. (c)), arson of personal property (§ 451, subd. (d)), and making a false report of a felony (§ 148.5). After defendant’s motion to suppress evidence was denied by the trial court, defendant pleaded no contest to arson of personal property and was sentenced to three years of probation and 180 days in jail, which the trial court stayed pending this appeal. Prior to entering his plea, defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence against him pursuant to section 1538.5, arguing the detention of the vehicle in which defendant was a passenger was unjustified. At the hearing, Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Kelly testified regarding the circumstances of the detention and resulting search that led to the evidence implicating defendant in the arson. On June 23, 2011, between 2:50 and 3:00 a.m., Kelly was informed by a police dispatcher of a “vehicle on fire” off of Round Mountain Road in Kern County. This was significant to him because local law enforcement had received calls from the area regarding stolen cars that were burned for insurance fraud purposes “all the time.” The dispatch further indicated that shots may have been fired and that two vehicles were seen leaving the area, including a “dark-colored compact car.” The location of the burning vehicle was rural, composed primarily of oil fields and dirt lots, and can only be accessed through one road and exited via only two routes. While in route to the scene of the burning car approximately one minute after receiving the dispatch information, Kelly spotted a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, which he described as a smaller, silver four-door sedan, traveling away from the burning car’s location. Kelly testified the Cobalt was the first vehicle he witnessed in the area and he felt it closely matched the description of the car seen leaving the scene of the burning vehicle because