People v. Valdez CA3

Filed 12/28/23 P. v. Valdez CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Yuba) ----

THE PEOPLE, C098054

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. CRF2200624)

v.

EDUARDO VALDEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Eduardo Valdez flipped his car, spun out, hit a road sign, and left the scene of the accident. An officer apprehended him, searched his backpack, and found a loaded magazine, a loaded handgun, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and burglary tools. The officer found more methamphetamine in defendant’s pants pocket. After the trial court denied his motion to suppress, defendant pleaded no contest to possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, possession of burglar’s tools, and hit and run. On appeal defendant contends that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress

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because there was no lawful search incident to arrest and the inevitable discovery doctrine did not apply. We will affirm the judgment. FACTUAL BACKGROUND At the motion to suppress and preliminary hearing, California Highway Patrol Officer Billy Saukkola testified that on a morning in March 2022 he responded to a report of a hit and run. A gray Chevrolet Camaro was rolled over onto its roof and in a ditch. The Camaro had knocked over a road sign when it spun into the ditch. The person who reported the hit and run said that the driver was walking northbound away from the car. Dispatch told Officer Saukkola that the driver was described as a male with a beard and wearing a baseball cap, blue jeans, and a black shirt. Dispatch also told Officer Saukkola that the person walking away from the Camaro had an injury to his arm. While Officer Saukkola spoke to emergency services personnel, who also reported to the scene, a driver going southbound yelled out the window, “Your driver is over at the gas station.” Officer Saukkola got in his patrol car and drove northbound to the gas station approximately one mile from the Camaro. When Officer Saukkola got to the gas station, he saw defendant talking to a hotel employee. Defendant matched the description of the driver from dispatch and had a cut on his right arm that was bleeding a lot. The bleeding was serious enough that Officer Saukkola thought defendant needed immediate medical attention. Defendant also had a black backpack next to his left foot. Officer Saukkola asked defendant if he was the driver of the Camaro, and defendant replied that he was the right front passenger. Officer Saukkola noticed that people were coming in and out of the gas station, but there were two people, a man and a woman, close to him who were intently watching him speak to defendant. Officer Saukkola asked what they were doing, and they said, “Just watching.” When Officer Saukkola asked if they knew defendant, they said they did not. When Officer Saukkola asked defendant if he knew the man and woman watching them, he also