In re Richard R. CA2/8

Filed 5/10/13 In re Richard R. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

In re RICHARD R., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. B240719

THE PEOPLE, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VJ41446) Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

RICHARD R.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Fumiko H. Wasserman, Judge. Affirmed.

Bruce G. Finebaum, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews and Analee J. Brodie, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

___________________________

Richard R. was declared a ward of the juvenile court and placed home on probation pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code 6021 upon a finding that he possessed marijuana for sale. On appeal, he contends there was insufficient evidence of the juvenile court‟s finding. We affirm the judgment. FACTS Deputy Bryan Lamb of the Los Angeles County Sherriff‟s Department was patrolling the area near Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier on May 21, 2011, at approximately 7:30 p.m. when he observed a Honda Civic parked near the cemetery sign. There were four people standing around the car and three people sitting inside, two in the front and one in the back. Lamb and his partner stopped near the Civic and as Lamb approached it on the passenger side, he smelled fresh marijuana smoke coming from the car. Richard was sitting in the back of the car and Lamb saw him “attempting to hide something underneath the driver‟s seat.” Lamb did not see what was in Richard‟s hands, if anything, before and during the time his hands were under the seat. After a lawful search, Deputy Lamb found three small baggies of marijuana underneath the driver‟s seat. This is the space Lamb observed Richard reach down into when he saw Lamb approach the car. The combined weight of the five baggies was just in excess of three grams of marijuana. Two other baggies were found under the driver‟s side floorboard. Richard was carrying two $5 bills and five $1 bills and a cell phone on his person. On the cell phone, an outgoing message read, “Do you want to pick up?” and the incoming text message read, “Yes, $20.” In a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, Richard was charged with one count of possession of marijuana for sale in violation of Health & Safety Code 11359. At trial, Lamb opined that Richard possessed the marijuana for sale. The opinion was based on his 40 hours of training on the growth, packaging, transport and sale of marijuana and his experience in 100 marijuana-related arrests and investigations. He also cited to “the U.S. currency, being the denominations which are