People v. Judkins CA4/1

Filed 8/7/25 P. v. Judkins CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D084856

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCN456254)

JUSTIN EARL JUDKINS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Laura E. Duffy, Judge. Affirmed. James R. Bostwick, Jr., under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Collette C. Cavalier and Emily Reeves, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Justin Earl Judkins was convicted of unlawful possession of controlled substances for purposes of sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351; count 1) and giving false information to a peace officer (Pen. Code, § 148.9; count 2). On

appeal, he claims his motion to suppress evidence was improperly denied. Specifically, he contends the search of his person and the car he was driving was unlawful because (1) his detention was unreasonably prolonged and (2) the search exceeded the scope of what is permitted following arrest. We conclude any delay in detention was reasonable given officer safety concerns, and considering the totality of the circumstances the trunk search did not exceed the scope of what is permitted following an arrest. Thus, we affirm. I. In May 2024, a police officer initiated a traffic stop after observing a car with expired registration and tinted windows in violation of the vehicle code. Judkins was driving, with passengers in the front and back passenger seats. The owner of the car sat in the front passenger seat. None of the occupants could provide any form of identification, so the officer requested backup. Judkins told the officer his name was “Brandon Judkins,” yet the officer found no records under that name. Upon searching “Judkins” alone, the officer found a photograph confirming Judkins’ identity. Judkins’ record revealed a felony warrant for a post release community supervision violation. It also confirmed Judkins was subject to a Fourth Amendment waiver. The officer waited for backup, as “[he] was outnumbered at that point” and “didn’t think it was safe to place [Judkins] under arrest by [him]self.” This wait delayed the arrest “[a]bout ten minutes.” Once the backup officer arrived, Judkins was handcuffed and searched. After finding no contraband on Judkins, the officer placed him under arrest for the felony warrant and for giving false information to a police officer. The officers then asked the passengers to step out of the car and handcuffed them to search the car. The backseat passenger admitted to having a knife on him and gave consent to search his pockets. The officers