People v. Hernandez CA3

Filed 4/6/16 P. v. Hernandez CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (El Dorado) ----

THE PEOPLE, C079000

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. P13CRF0521)

v.

RONNIE HERNANDEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Ronnie Hernandez was charged with a number of offenses related to driving under the influence. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the vehicle stop, alleging that the vehicle stop was unreasonable. After the trial court denied the motion, defendant pled no contest to felony driving a motor vehicle while having a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 percent or above. On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We disagree and affirm.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On September 21, 2013, El Dorado County Deputy Sheriff Bernard Brown was driving westbound on U.S. 50 when he saw defendant make a lane change on the westbound off-ramp to Missouri Flat Road without signaling. Deputy Brown could not remember precisely between which lanes defendant moved. Shortly after turning south on Missouri Flat Road, defendant made a second lane change without signaling, moving from the far right lane into the next lane before the far right lane turned off onto Mother Lode Road. At the time of the lane changes, there were several vehicles in proximity to defendant, including Deputy Brown’s. After the lane changes, Deputy Brown drove behind defendant and continued to watch him. While following defendant, Deputy Brown saw defendant swerve inside the lane two to three times. After observing the lane changes and the weaving, Deputy Brown suspected that defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol or another substance and pulled defendant over to investigate. Deputy Brown smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage when he spoke to defendant. Deputy Brown administered field sobriety tests, which defendant performed poorly. After subsequent testing, Deputy Brown arrested defendant for driving under the influence of alcohol. Defendant was charged with felony driving under the influence, felony driving a motor vehicle while having a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 percent or above, and misdemeanor driving while driving privileges were suspended for driving under the influence convictions. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the traffic stop. At the hearing on the motion, the court found there were two lane changes that required signals for purposes of the Vehicle Code because there were other drivers on the road, including Deputy Brown, who “may [have] be[en] affected by the