People v. Lamzon CA3

Filed 1/28/16 P. v. Lamzon CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE, C078871

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. SF129712A)

v.

RUEL ESQUERRA LAMZON,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Ruel Esquerra Lamzon guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm (a rifle), and the trial court found he had served a prior prison term. The court sentenced him to prison for the low term of 16 months for the possession crime and a consecutive one year for the enhancement. Defendant appeals, contending the trial court erred in: (1) denying his motion to suppress the evidence against him; and (2) refusing to grant him probation. Disagreeing, we affirm.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1 Around 9:50 p.m. on October 1, 2014, Stockton Police Officer Melissa White and Lieutenant Michael Reynosa, who were together in a patrol car, saw defendant riding his bicycle in the dark without a light in a residential area of south Stockton. They noticed that defendant had a “long cylinder-type object that was attached to the front handlebars of this bicycle” that was wrapped in plastic and a sweater. The package was wrapped in such a way that it was not obvious what was inside. The officers pulled up behind defendant and turned on their patrol car’s emergency lights. Defendant stopped immediately. Officer White asked defendant for his identifying information. Defendant did not have a photo identification with him, but he gave his first and last name and date of birth. Lieutenant Reynosa asked defendant about the package attached to his handlebars. Defendant replied, “it was a stick used for protection.” As soon as defendant made this statement, Officer White arrested him because “that would be against the law, a Billy club-type item used for protection,” and put him in handcuffs. Officer White went back to the patrol car to do a records check. Lieutenant Reynosa stayed with defendant and talked with him for the two to three minutes it took to complete the records check. Through the records check, Officer White learned that defendant had an outstanding arrest warrant and had been convicted of a felony. Officer White then put defendant in the backseat of the patrol car. Officer White searched the package on defendant’s bike, which contained a rifle.