People v. McThrow CA5

Filed 9/25/15 P. v. McThrow 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, F069434 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF153351A) v.

DEANDRE RAY McTHROW, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. Michael G. Bush and Colette M. Humphrey, Judges.† Tutti Hacking, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Carlos A. Martinez and Wanda Hill Rouzan, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Kane, Acting P. J., Detjen, J. and Smith, J. † Judge Bush presided over appellant’s motion to suppress; Judge Humphrey presided over appellant’s sentencing hearing.

INTRODUCTION Appellant Deandre Ray McThrow was charged with vehicle theft (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a), count 1), possession of a stolen vehicle (Pen. Code, § 496d, count 2), and transportation of marijuana (Health & Saf. Code, § 11360, subd. (a), count 3). He pleaded no contest to counts 1 and 2, admitted various enhancement allegations against him, and count 3 was dismissed. Appellant was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Appellant contends the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress because the officer who initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle he was driving lacked an objectively reasonable basis to do so. We disagree and affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY Appellant moved to suppress the evidence obtained against him pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5. The following statement of facts are derived from the reporter’s transcript from the motion to suppress hearing. On February 15, 2014, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Officer Claude Brooks from the Bakersfield Police Department was on duty with his partner in the area of the 400 block of East 19th Street in Bakersfield. Officer Brooks observed a gold Toyota Corolla driving in the opposite direction and trained his spotlight on the vehicle as it passed. In so doing, Officer Brooks saw numerous necklaces hanging from the rearview mirror of the vehicle. Although he could not recall the exact size of the necklaces, his observation was that it was sufficient to obstruct the driver’s view of the front window. Believing this to be a violation of the Vehicle Code, he made a U-turn to initiate a traffic stop. Officer Brooks located the vehicle parked in a parking lot. When he approached the vehicle and asked the driver, appellant, for his driver’s license, appellant responded that he did not have a valid license. From his vantage point, Officer Brooks observed that the necklaces appeared to obstruct the driver’s view through the front windshield. Officers discovered the vehicle was stolen from Pearl Ann Jimenez Morales. Morales was called to the scene where she took possession of the vehicle. She testified