People v. Meeks CA2/1

Filed 1/23/15 P. v. Meeks CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B254317

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA409911) v.

HENRY EARL MEEKS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Charlaine F. Olmedo, Judge. Affirmed. Joshua H. Schraer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Attorney General, Johnathan J. Kline and Jonathan M. Krauss, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ——————————

Defendant pleaded no contest to two counts of residential burglary arising out of two separate incidents. Police stopped defendant after they observed him crouched near his car, which was parked next to a large shipping container at a gas station. The officers believed defendant was either fastening or unfastening the license plate on the vehicle. A search of the car, conducted after officers had ascertained defendant was on probation, yielded evidence connecting defendant to a recent residential burglary. Defendant moved to exclude evidence obtained in the search, but the trial court denied his motion, finding the officers properly searched the vehicle after they learned of his probation search condition. We affirm. BACKGROUND On December 12, 2013, defendant was charged in an amended information with two counts of residential burglary, one count of attempted burglary of an inhabited vessel, and four counts of receiving stolen property. Count 1 was based on the April 4, 2013 burglary of the residence of Shelly Marshall, and count 2 was based on the September 5, 2013 burglary of the residence of Susan Geddes. On February 5, 2014, defendant pleaded no contest to counts 1 and 2 and the court dismissed the remaining counts. On December 19, 2013, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained in connection with the stop of defendant at the gas station, during which police officers searched defendant‘s car and found evidence of tools and contraband connected with the burglary of Susan Geddes‘s home. Defendant argued that the officers could not articulate facts justifying the detention, which was unlawfully prolonged. The trial court conducted a hearing at which it took testimony regarding the stop of defendant. Officer Paul Quintana of the Los Angeles Police Department was working with Officer Peters on September 5, 2013, on patrol in the Wilshire Division near the area of Washington and Crenshaw because of high narcotic activity in the area. Around noon, at a Mobil Gas station at the corner of Crenshaw and Washington, Officer Quintana observed defendant crouched in front of a vehicle ―possibly removing or installing plates on a vehicle.‖ The car was not parked next to a gas pump, nor was it parked in a parking