People v. Vera

239 Cal. Rptr. 3d 642, 28 Cal. App. 5th 1081
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedNovember 5, 2018
DocketE069367
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 239 Cal. Rptr. 3d 642 (People v. Vera) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Vera, 239 Cal. Rptr. 3d 642, 28 Cal. App. 5th 1081 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

RAPHAEL J.

*1083Defendant and appellant Esteban Vera was convicted of possessing one kilogram of a controlled substance that was discovered through a dog sniff during a traffic stop of his vehicle. An officer had stopped Vera due to a tinted-window infraction. We must determine whether the dog sniff unconstitutionally prolonged his detention for that traffic stop, requiring *1084suppression of the drugs under Rodriguez v. United States (2015) --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 1609, 191 L.Ed.2d 492 ( Rodriguez ). We affirm the trial court's denial of Vera's suppression motion.

I. FACTS

On June 22, 2017, City of Rialto police detective Joseph Maltese was driving in his patrol car with his narcotics-certified dog. On Riverside Avenue in Rialto, Maltese observed a vehicle driving with windows that were illegally tinted, in violation of California Vehicle Code section 26708, subdivision (a). Maltese directed the vehicle to stop, and both vehicles pulled into a lot and parked.

When Maltese approached the vehicle on foot from behind, he could not see through the rear window because it was so darkly tinted; the driver, Vera, was visible only through the driver's side rearview mirror. Maltese asked Vera to drop the rear window, but Vera would not do so. For *644Maltese's safety, he ordered Vera out of the car.

Maltese ordered Vera to walk to Maltese's patrol car, turn around, and put his hands on his head. Maltese patted Vera down for weapons, finding a knife in Vera's pocket. The knife appeared to be a switchblade.

Maltese asked Vera to sit on a curb, and he did. He asked for Vera's driver's license, and Vera said it was in the glove compartment of his car. Maltese asked for and received permission to retrieve the license, and he found it in the car. Maltese also found the vehicle registration.

Around that time, another officer, Garcia, arrived. Garcia happened to be in the same parking lot and came as backup without being called. Maltese performed a records check on Vera, finding no warrants. Maltese also examined the knife and determined that it was not an illegal switchblade. During this time, Garcia made sure Vera was not going to run away or harm Maltese.

Maltese then asked Garcia to write the citation for the window tint violation and Garcia said "sure." Over the next 32 seconds, Maltese went to his patrol car, obtained both his citation book and his dog, and handed the citation book to Garcia. (The record contains a video from a body camera on Maltese that covers this time period.) After Maltese handed Garcia the citation book, Garcia began writing the citation. While Maltese retrieved his citation book and dog, and for about 40 seconds thereafter, Maltese repeatedly asked Vera for consent to search his car. Vera repeatedly said no. At the *1085vehicle, the dog alerted on the trunk, and then alerted again on the interior dashboard. At the time that the dog was examining the car, Garcia was still writing the citation.

Maltese opened the trunk of Vera's car and found a blue duffle bag, to which the dog alerted. In the bag, Maltese found various bags of a substance that appeared to be methamphetamine, and he found additional bags in the center console of the car behind air vents. He weighed the substance in the duffle bag at over 4.5 kilograms, and he received a positive result upon field testing it for methamphetamine.

Vera was charged with felony possession for sale of a controlled substance, and he filed a written motion to suppress the drug evidence under Penal Code section 1538.5. Vera argued, among other things, that his traffic stop was unreasonably prolonged under Rodriguez . After hearing testimony from Maltese and viewing the excerpt of the video of the stop from Maltese's body camera, the trial court denied the motion.

Vera later pled no contest to an amended information alleging possession of one kilogram of a controlled substance, reserving his right to appeal. He received a custody term of five years, of which two years were suspended and mandatory supervision by the probation department imposed.

II. DISCUSSION

Vera's sole argument on appeal is that the methamphetamine found in his car must be suppressed because his traffic stop was unreasonably prolonged by the dog sniff, in violation of Rodriguez . We therefore explain Rodriguez and then apply it to the facts of this case. Because the relevant facts are not disputed, we exercise de novo review. ( People v. Stanley (2017) 18 Cal.App. 5th 398, 402, 226 Cal.Rptr.3d 291.) Ultimately, we reject Vera's claim and affirm.

A. Rodriguez

Because the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution forbids only *645unreasonable searches and seizures, "an officer may stop and detain a motorist on reasonable suspicion that the driver has violated the law." ( People v. Wells (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1078, 1082-1083, 45 Cal.Rptr.3d 8, 136 P.3d 810 ; see, e.g., Arizona v. Johnson (2009) 555 U.S. 323, 330-331, 129 S.Ct. 781, 172 L.Ed.2d 694 [discussing United States Supreme Court cases permitting detention during traffic stops].)

During the execution of a lawful traffic stop, the police may have a trained dog sniff the driver's vehicle, typically to detect the presence of *1086drugs. Even if they lack any reason to believe that the dog will alert, police officers may conduct a dog sniff without implicating the Fourth Amendment, because a dog sniff is not a search at all. ( Illinois v. Caballes (2005) 543 U.S. 405

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Lee CA4/2
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Gyorgy
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Ochoagomez CA2/1
California Court of Appeal, 2021

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
239 Cal. Rptr. 3d 642, 28 Cal. App. 5th 1081, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-vera-calctapp5d-2018.