People v. Jones CA3

Filed 7/15/14 P. v. Jones CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Shasta) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C074114

v. (Super. Ct. No. 12F4600)

JEVIS JULIAN JONES,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Jevis Julian Jones guilty of receiving stolen property. (Pen. Code, § 496, subd. (a).) The trial court sustained three strike and two prior prison term allegations and sentenced defendant to serve eight years in state prison. On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his suppression motion alleging an unreasonable detention. We conclude the detention was supported by reasonable suspicion and affirm. FACTS Since the only issue is the legality of defendant’s detention, we take the facts from the suppression hearing. At 2:00 a.m. on May 11, 2012, Redding Police Officers Dean Adams and Jon Sheldon responded to a complaint of trespassers in a room at a Vagabond Inn. While working on the graveyard shift, Officer Adams regularly responded to this Vagabond Inn.

1

He also knew there were many problems concerning the motels in this area, including vehicle thefts, vehicle burglaries, and broken car windows. Officer Sheldon testified this part of Redding was considered a high crime area, with officers called in for incidents such as trespassing, squatters in motel rooms, vehicle thefts, drug sales, and robberies. While they were returning to the patrol car after finishing the investigation, a person drove by in a pickup truck and said there was an adult Black male at the rear of the motel who was acting suspiciously and hiding. Officer Sheldon pointed out defendant to Officer Adams, and the two approached. Defendant was sitting or standing by the motel stairs with a bicycle leaning against a nearby wall. The stairwell is on the southwest corner of the motel and leads to the upper level rooms. The officers asked defendant for identification but he did not have any. Officer Adams testified defendant was in a place the officer would not expect defendant to be unless he had a room at the motel. Officer Adams asked defendant where he was from; defendant was evasive, stating he was from Sacramento, did not have a room, and did not have an address. Officer Adams concluded defendant was trespassing based on the fact he had no business being in the motel parking lot or building at that time of night. Defendant told Officer Sheldon he was meeting someone at the motel, a woman whose name he either could not or would not provide. Officer Sheldon noticed defendant kept moving throughout the entire encounter and was unable to tell them why he was there, making the officer increasingly suspicious. Officer Adams asked defendant about the bicycle. Defendant said he got it from someone on the street whose name he could not recall. As a bicycle rider, Officer Adams knew the bicycle was worth about $500 to $1,000. He was suspicious someone from Sacramento without a place to live would possess such an expensive bicycle, so he went over and checked the bicycle’s serial number. The serial number was called into dispatch, which reported the bicycle was recently stolen. Officer Sheldon then arrested defendant.