People v. Gonzales

California Court of Appeal Dec 20, 1989 No. G007492Published

Before: Crosby

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Holding. The court held that the search of the defendant was supported by probable cause based on the totality of the circumstances, and that the officer's subjective belief regarding the existence of probable cause is irrelevant under an objective reasonableness standard.

Issues

Whether the defendant was illegally detained prior to the seizure of the contraband.
Whether the officer had probable cause to arrest and search the defendant based on the totality of the circumstances.
Whether an officer's subjective belief regarding the existence of probable cause affects the validity of a search under an objective reasonableness standard.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The court need only to review "the challenged searches under a standard of objective reasonableness without regard to the underlying intent or motivation of the officers involved."”

“In short, Raney's legal assessment was largely irrelevant if the search was reasonable viewed objectively from a judicial perspective.”

“Viewed objectively, these facts, coupled with Buena Clinton's notorious reputation, gave the officer probable cause to arrest under the commonsense approach of the United States Supreme Court in Brown”

216 Cal.App.3d 1185 (1989) 265 Cal. Rptr. 507 THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

VICTOR DURON GONZALES, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. G007492. Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, Division Three.

December 20, 1989. [1187] COUNSEL

Ronald Y. Butler, Public Defender, Carl C. Holmes, Thomas Havlena and Stephen J. Biskar, Deputy Public Defenders, for Defendant and Appellant.

John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, Richard B. Iglehart, Chief Assistant Attorney General, and Steven H. Zeigan, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

CROSBY, J.

Victor Duron Gonzales pleaded guilty to one count of possession of heroin after his motion to suppress was denied. Notwithstanding the arresting officer's own misgivings, viewed objectively and considering the totality of the circumstances, we believe there was adequate probable cause to arrest and affirm accordingly.

This is the latest in a seemingly endless line of cases springing from drug enforcement activity in the Buena Clinton area of Garden Grove. Sergeant [1188] Kevin Raney was assigned to a special drug unit "try[ing] to lower the crime rate in Buena Clinton." In the first several weeks of July 1988, Raney encountered Gonzales on several occasions. Defendant admitted he was into drug use, and the officer saw "a growing number of injection wounds on both of the inner portions of his forearms." Raney warned Gonzales that the "[Buena-Clinton] area h[eld] nothing for [him and would only get him] into trouble."

On July 23, 1988, the officer saw defendant in a carport and noted his physical appearance had deteriorated from the previous week. Gonzales looked towards Raney's vehicle and moved his hand down to his right front pants pocket. Raney approached defendant and asked him what he was doing. Gonzales, who was carrying a bundle of clothes, replied he was searching for a relative's stolen bicycle. He again moved his hand toward the pocket. Raney saw one-half inch of a "cylindrical rolled up" clear plastic baggy protruding from that location.

People v. Gonzales

AI Brief

OPINION

CROSBY, J.

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NOTES

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