People v. Suarez CA2/6

Filed 4/2/14 P. v. Suarez CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B248105 (Super. Ct. No. 2012003233) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

JESUS SAMUEL SUAREZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

Jesus Samuel Suarez appeals a judgment following conviction of possession of methamphetamine for sale and transportation of methamphetamine, with findings that the methamphetamine exceeded 28.5 grams by weight and that he served three prior prison terms. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11378, 11379, subd. (a)1; Pen. Code, §§ 1203.073, subd. (b)(2), 667.5, subd. (b).) We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In the afternoon of January 26, 2012, Ventura Police Detectives Adam Delgado and Joshua Young patrolled Johnson Drive in an unmarked vehicle. They saw Suarez in a silver-colored Chrysler automobile linger at a stop sign and then look "up and down the street." The detectives followed Suarez to a nearby gasoline station. There, he remained inside his vehicle, spoke on a cellular telephone, and looked around. Suarez then

1 All further statutory references are to the Health and Safety Code unless otherwise stated.

walked inside the station's convenience store, returned to his vehicle, pumped gasoline, and spoke on the telephone. Afterward, he drove to the north side of the station where again, he looked around and spoke on the telephone. The detectives continued to monitor Suarez because they suspected he was involved in criminal activity. While watching him, they checked the license plate number of his automobile and learned that it belonged to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. This information heightened the detectives' suspicions. Suarez left the gasoline station and drove to a nearby fast-food restaurant. There, he parked the automobile, opened and closed its trunk quickly, looked around, and then drove a short distance within the parking lot. Suarez parked the automobile and walked into a liquor store where he purchased two cold beverages. Meanwhile, James Lopez drove into the shopping center and parked his Chevrolet Malibu automobile near Suarez's automobile. By this time, Detective Delgado had requested assistance from Ventura Police Officer Kyle Robinson. When Suarez returned to his automobile, he and Lopez conversed. Suarez opened the passenger door of Lopez's automobile and walked to the Chrysler automobile and retrieved items from the front seat. Suarez carried the items, including the cold beverages, to the front seat of Lopez's automobile. Detective Young video-recorded the encounter between the two men, and at trial, the prosecutor played the recording. When Officer Robinson arrived, Lopez shut the door of the Chevrolet automobile. Robinson searched Suarez and found $427, a digital scale, and 1.18 grams of methamphetamine (in a prescription pill container) in a clothing pocket. Suarez did not appear to be under the influence of narcotics nor did he possess any narcotics paraphernalia. Suarez admitted to Robinson that the substance in the pill container was methamphetamine. Robinson also searched the two automobiles. In the front seat of the Chevrolet automobile, he found a large jewelry box containing 148.10 grams of methamphetamine, and two bottles of cold beverages. He also found a digital scale in the trunk of the automobile. The jewelry box had a porous surface that precluded obtaining