People v. Aguilar CA2/1

Filed 12/13/23 P. v. Aguilar CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B326891 (Los Angeles County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. BA505745) v.

ALFREDO DIAZ AGUILAR,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, James R. Dabney, Judge. Affirmed. John L. Staley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri and Nikhil Cooper, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _____________________

Defendant and appellant Alfredo Diaz Aguilar pleaded no contest to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon (Pen. Code, § 29800, subd. (a)(1))1 after a California Highway Patrol officer found a handgun in his waistband during a traffic stop. Aguilar also admitted he had previously been convicted of a serious and violent felony, robbery (§ 211), in 2011. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the trial court sentenced Aguilar to 32 months in state prison and imposed various fines and fees. In this appeal, Aguilar contends the highway patrol officer violated his Fourth Amendment rights by conducting a pat-down search without reasonable suspicion that Aguilar was armed and dangerous, and that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence of the handgun the officer found in the search. Aguilar asks that we reverse the denial of his suppression motion and remand the case to the trial court to allow him to withdraw his plea. We disagree and affirm. FACTUAL SUMMARY RELATED TO AGUILAR’S SUPPRESSION MOTION At approximately 1:00 a.m. on May 25, 2022, California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle in one of the traffic lanes of the 710 Freeway in East Los Angeles. Officers halted freeway traffic to investigate. As the officers approached the vehicle, they found Aguilar asleep behind the wheel of his car, which was stopped in the second lane from the left on the freeway. The keys were in the ignition, the engine was running, and the car was in gear; the car was not moving