People v. Trujillo CA5

Filed 5/20/14 P. v. Trujillo 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, F066245 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Super. Ct. No. BF143485A)

EDDIE GARCIA TRUJILLO, Defendant and Appellant. OPINION

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. Colette M. Humphrey, J. Eric Bradshaw and Michael G. Bush, Judges.‡ Elizabeth Campbell, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Stephen G. Herndon and Harry Joseph Colombo, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Poochigian, Acting P.J., Peña, J. and Sarkisian, J.† † Judge of the Fresno Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution. ‡ Judge Humphrey ruled on defendant’s motion to suppress; Judge Bradshaw accepted defendant’s plea; and Judge Bush imposed sentence.

After the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence, defendant Eddie Garcia Trujillo pled no contest to transportation of methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11379, subd. (a); count 1). He was granted three years’ probation. On appeal, he contends his car was improperly impounded and therefore the subsequent inventory search of the car was illegal. Thus, he argues, the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We disagree and will affirm. FACTS Bakersfield Police Officer Dinsmore testified that on August 10, 2012, at about 3:20 p.m., he observed a car on the roadway in front of him with registration tags that were expired. He ran the tags and learned the registration had expired on October 24, 2011. He pulled the car over and contacted both defendant, who was driving, and his front-seat passenger. Dinsmore asked them for identification and asked them whether they were on probation or parole with search terms. The passenger said he was. Defendant stated the car was his. Dinsmore requested backup for officer safety, and he impounded the car pursuant to Vehicle Code section 22651, which provides for impoundment of a vehicle on a public roadway whose registration had been expired for six months.1 Based on Dinsmore’s experience in the gang unit, he knew the neighborhood was a high crime area. Dinsmore conducted an inventory search of the car. He found in plain view $1,780 in various denominations in the rear storage compartment of the front passenger seat. This large amount of currency raised his suspicion. Dinsmore also found inside the