People v. Campuzano

Filed 10/9/14 Modified and Certified for Publication 11/6/14 (mod. incorporated into opn.; order not available electronically)

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO APPELLATE DIVISION

THE PEOPLE, Appellate Division No.: CA256406

Plaintiff and Respondent, Trial Court Case No.: M178993 Trial Court Location: Central Division v. County Courthouse

FELIPE CAMPUZANO, OPINION (modified 11/6/14)

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from the denial of defendant Felipe Campuzano’s pretrial Penal Code section 1538.5 motion to suppress evidence by the Superior Court, County of San Diego, Kenneth K. So, Judge. Reversed. Factual and Procedural Background On December 17, 2013 at approximately 9:30 p.m., the defendant was straddling his bicycle and operating it at a “very slow, walking speed” alongside of a female companion who was walking. The couple was traveling eastbound along the 3800 block of University Avenue near the corner of 39th Street when they were first observed by police officers. Two officers contacted and detained the defendant just before the traffic light at the intersection of 39th Street and University

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Avenue because he was “riding on a bicycle in a business district” in violation of San Diego Municipal Code section 84.09(a)1. The officers described the area as a business district with “no residential homes on that block.” The officers more specifically testified that there were business establishments on the west side of that same block and that it could “absolutely” be classified as a commercial area. Photographs of businesses across the street and on the west side of the block were admitted into evidence. There were no photographs showing any business(es) where the defendant was initially seen or stopped. Subsequent to the stop, the officers observed objective symptoms of drug intoxication and arrested defendant for violating Health and Safety Code section 11550. After the testimony of witnesses was completed, the hearing was continued to permit the parties to present additional information to the court on the nature of the businesses on the block in question. At the subsequent hearing, the parties stipulated that the bicycle offense was alleged to have occurred in the area depicted in the photographic exhibits submitted to the court, in front of the former business known as Lee’s Auto Repair. The photographs depict the former Lee’s Auto Repair as the corner lot next to the intersection of University Avenue and 39th Street surrounded by a chain link fence with weeds growing along the fence and in the asphalt of the parking lot of that former business. The trial court made several references to “the former Lee’s Auto Repair” while viewing the photographs. There was no testimony as to what type of a lot was to the west-side of the former Lee’s Auto Repair or how far down the block the next commercial business establishment was located. The trial court recognized that this was a case of first impression and wrestled with the interpretation of San Diego Municipal Code section 84.09(a). The trial court believed the thrust of