People v. Gwartney CA2/8

Filed 10/29/15 P. v. Gwartney CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B263600

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA064367) v.

JASON ANDREW GWARTNEY,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. Carol Koppel and Kathleen Blanchard, Judges. Affirmed.

Richard L. Fitzer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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After his motion to suppress evidence was denied, defendant Jason Andrew Gwartney pled no contest to a felony violation of Health and Safety Code section 11378 (possession for sale of methamphetamine). He appeals from the denial of his suppression motions. Our independent review of the record (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436) reveals no error. Defendant filed his suppression motion shortly before the preliminary hearing. He contended the consent he gave to the search during a traffic stop was vitiated by police conduct “in violation of government rules, laws and policies,” and that police “did not have the right to request a search.” The facts are these. At the preliminary hearing, Deputy Sheriff Yesenia Delacruz testified that she and her partner, Deputy Jepson, conducted a traffic stop on September 19, 2014, in Palmdale. The driver (defendant) was not wearing a seat belt, and there was a long crack in the front windshield blocking the driver’s view. The traffic stop occurred in the parking lot of the EZ 8 Motel. Deputy Delacruz, who was on the passenger side of defendant’s car, heard Deputy Jepson tell defendant the reason for the stop, but she did not record that in her report of the incident. She did not remember whether Deputy Jepson asked to see defendant’s license and registration. Neither officer wrote a traffic ticket for driving without a seatbelt or driving with a cracked windshield. Instead, Deputy Jepson asked defendant if he was on probation or parole, and defendant said he was not. Deputy Jepson then asked defendant whether there was “anything illegal on him,” and defendant said “no.” Deputy Jepson asked defendant for consent to search his person, and defendant consented. Defendant then got out of the car and was searched. Deputy Jepson found a plastic baggy with a substance resembling methamphetamine in defendant’s pocket. This was later found to be 0.26 grams of crystalline solid substance containing methamphetamine.