People v. Guidry CA4/2

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 9, 2026
DocketE084970
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Guidry CA4/2 (People v. Guidry CA4/2) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Guidry CA4/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

Filed 4/9/26 P. v. Guidry CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, E084970

v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF2300861)

ORILLION VON GUIDRY, JR., OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Scott P. Williams, Judge.

Affirmed with directions.

Dan E. Chambers, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and

Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney

General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Donald W. Ostertag and Robin

Urbanski, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

1 INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Orillian Von Guidry was charged by felony complaint

with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Pen. Code1, § 29800, subd. (a)(1),

count 1) and possession of ammunition by a felon (§ 30305, subd. (a)(1), count 2). He

moved to suppress the prosecution’s evidence against him pursuant to section 1538.5.

The trial court denied the motion. The People filed an information, charging him with

counts 1 and 2, as previously charged in the complaint, and defendant filed a motion to

dismiss the information, pursuant to section 995. The court denied the motion.

Defendant then filed a renewed motion to suppress under section 1538.5, subdivision (i),

which the court also denied. He subsequently entered a plea agreement and pled guilty to

counts 1 and 2, and the court granted him probation for a period of 24 months, on

specified terms and conditions. The court struck all applicable fines and fees.

On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to

suppress. He also argues the abstract of judgment must be corrected to strike the

imposition of fines and fees. The People concede, and we agree, that the minute order

should be corrected to reflect the striking of the applicable fees and fines. In all other

respects, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The following factual background is derived from the combined preliminary

hearing/motion to suppress hearing: Officer Galindo testified that he and his partner,

1 All further statutory references will be to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

2 Officer Gooselaw, were on patrol when they observed a black sedan at a gas station with

no front license plate and dark tinted front windows, both of which constituted violations

of the Vehicle Code. The car exited the gas station parking lot and got on the freeway.

The officers followed it onto the freeway, and shortly thereafter conducted a traffic stop.

The driver of the car pulled over onto the shoulder of the freeway. There was fairly

heavy traffic at the time. Officer Galindo approached the passenger’s side of the car, and

the driver, defendant, rolled down the passenger side window to talk to him. Defendant

was the only occupant.

Almost immediately, Officer Galindo observed brown papers, which he believed

to be “blunt wraps,” as well as a “fresh marijuana blunt,” in the cupholder of the center

console. The blunt was not actively lit, and, at the time of the hearing, Officer Galindo

could not recall if the end of it appeared to have been burned. He also could not recall if

the car smelled like marijuana. Officer Galindo informed defendant why he had been

pulled over and asked for his identification and paperwork for the car. Because they were

on the freeway with heavy traffic, Officer Galindo did not feel his partner would be safe

standing on the driver’s side of the vehicle. Also, because of the marijuana blunt he saw

in the cupholder, which he testified was a violation of Vehicle Code section 23222,

subdivision (b), he asked defendant to step out of the car. Officer Gooselaw escorted

appellant to stand near the front passenger side of the patrol car.

Officer Galindo began searching defendant’s car. He wanted to retrieve the blunt

and search the car for other open containers of marijuana. As the officer was searching

the front of the car, he observed what he thought was a gun wedged between the driver’s

3 seat and the center console. He returned to the patrol car and placed defendant in

handcuffs; then he went back to retrieve the firearm, which was a nine-millimeter semi-

automatic handgun. There were nine rounds in the magazine, but none were chambered.

Officer Galindo also retrieved the blunt and examined it more closely. He testified that

“you could smell the odor of fresh marijuana coming from it,” and, based on his training

and experience, he determined it contained fresh marijuana. Officer Galindo stated that

less than five minutes transpired between the time he first contacted defendant and the

time he found the firearm.

The People introduced the video from Officer Galindo’s body camera, as well as a

transcript of the video, into evidence. The video showed that Officer Galindo approached

defendant in his car, asked for defendant’s license and registration, and informed him that

he had no license plate and darkly tinted windows. Officer Galindo asked defendant if he

was on parole or probation and informed him that he was being detained because of

“[t]he marijuana right there.” Appellant argued with Officer Galindo that he had not

even smoked the marijuana, and Officer Galindo explained that the blunt was an open

container. Officer Galindo then asked whether there were weapons or anything else in

the car the officers should be aware of. Defendant continued to argue, stating that “[i]t’s

just a little bit of bud.” He then denied having more drugs or any weapons in the car.

The officer explained that because defendant had an open container, he was going to

search the car. Defendant argued that it was not an open container and said, “I didn’t

even smoke it.” Officer Galindo explained that it was an open container and asked

whether there was anything he needed to know about in the car.

4 At the conclusion of the presentation of evidence, the prosecutor argued that the

officers conducted a lawful traffic stop, during which Officer Galindo observed the

marijuana blunt. He asserted that Officer Galindo had probable cause to believe

defendant was in violation of the Vehicle Code and therefore had probable cause to

search defendant’s car for additional open containers of marijuana. When he searched

the car, Officer Galindo observed the firearm, and he had the lawful authority to seize it.

Defense counsel argued that the stop was prolonged. She also contended that one blunt

was not enough to give the officer probable cause to search the car. Defense counsel also

claimed the search was pretextual, and the officers were clearly searching for weapons.

After hearing closing arguments, the court denied defendant’s motion to suppress.

It found the officers had a reasonable suspicion to pull defendant over due to the vehicle

code violations (missing front license plate and dark, tinted, front windows). The court

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In Re Candelario
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Paterno v. State
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People v. Souza
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Bluebook (online)
People v. Guidry CA4/2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-guidry-ca42-calctapp-2026.