People v. Waters CA1/2

California Court of Appeal·Decided February 26, 2014·No. A137322·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 2/26/14 P. v. Waters CA1/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A137322 v. JOSEPH WILLIAM WATERS, (Humboldt County Super. Ct. No. CR1105299) Defendant and Appellant.

After a vehicle stop for an unfastened seat belt, defendant Joseph William Waters was found in possession of two handguns and a billy club. One handgun was seen in the glove box as defendant opened it to retrieve the vehicle registration; the second gun and the billy were found during a subsequent search of the car while defendant was handcuffed in a patrol car. Defendant entered a negotiated plea to one misdemeanor count of possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle (Pen. Code, § 25400, subd. (a)(1))1 and one misdemeanor count of possession of an illegal weapon (billy or blackjack) (§ 22210). He now appeals the denial of his suppression motion (§ 1538.5, subd. (m)) and asks us to review the sealed transcript of his Pitchess motion2 to determine whether there was an error in procedure and whether the trial court abused its discretion in determining there was no discoverable material. We conclude there was no error in ruling on the suppression motion, but we remand for a new Pitchess hearing.

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531.

1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On November 24, 2011, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer William Adams was on patrol on Myrtle Avenue in Eureka, having been instructed to pay particular attention to seat belt violations over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. As he approached and traveled through the intersection at Myrtle Avenue and McFarland Street he sawdefendant’s teal Mercedes sedan stopped at the intersection, in a position perpendicular to his own. He drove through the intersection at 25 to 30 miles per hour and slowed even further as he passed the Mercedes, noticing the driver’s seat belt was in the “off position”―with the two parallel straps and metal buckle hanging near the driver’s shoulder. Adams was about 25 to 30 feet away from the Mercedes when he saw the unbuckled seat belt, and he testified he could see clearly into defendant’s passenger compartment. Adams pulled his car into the middle turn lane after he crossed the intersection, waiting for the Mercedes to turn onto Myrtle. As the Mercedes passed his patrol car, Adams got into defendant’s lane and followed him. Adams initiated a traffic stop by turning on his emergency lights. Defendant pulled over to the right in an area where the shoulder of the road was narrow, so Adams instructed him over the public address system to continue driving to a safer place. Defendant then pulled his car into the parking lot of a drug store in a strip mall. Adams had not seen any furtive movements on defendant’s part that would indicate he was belatedly buckling his seat belt. Adams approached defendant’s car from the passenger side. Defendant at that point had his seat belt fastened. Adams thought defendant had put on his seat belt sometime after the officer observed it was off. Defendant rolled down the passenger window just a crack, and Adams could not communicate with him due to the ambient noise. Adams ordered defendant several times to roll down the window farther, but defendant refused. Adams also asked for defendant’s driver’s license information and told him why he had been stopped. Defendant insisted he had been driving with his seat belt buckled

2 the whole time. Adams responded, “Hey, man. The only reason I stopped you is ’cause you clearly didn’t have your seat belt on.” Defendant then slumped his shoulders as if to say, “ ‘yeah.’ ” Adams then went to the driver’s door and again defendant refused to roll down his window more than an inch or two. Adams asked for defendant’s driver’s license and the vehicle registration. Defendant produced a California identification card but told Adams the registration was locked in the glove compartment and he did not have a key. He said he would need to call a friend to bring him a key before he could get into the glove box. The officer told him to go ahead and make the call. Shortly thereafter defendant said he remembered he did have the key, and he reached over to open the glove box. Adams was on alert because of defendant’s behavior: his unwillingness to cooperate, his refusal to roll down the window, and the delay before he came up with the glove box key. When defendant opened the glove box, Adams saw the butt end of a black semi-automatic handgun inside. After seeing that, Adams drew his weapon, made defendant exit the vehicle, handcuffed him, placed him in the patrol car, and searched his vehicle. During the search, Adams found two loaded firearms in the glove box (a 9 mm and a .380 caliber) and a billy club in the trunk. Defendant told the officer he had a concealed weapon permit for the guns, which had recently expired,3 and that he that he used to work in security and carried the billy for protection. On February 2, 2012, defendant was charged by information with two counts of being a convicted person in possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle (§25400, subd. (a)(1)) and one count of possession of an unlawful weapon (billy or blackjack) (§ 22210). He filed a Pitchess motion on March 15, 2012, seeking discovery of all records of false arrests, false statements, or illegal search and seizure by CHP Officer Adams. The CHP opposed the motion. The court found there was a sufficient showing

3 Subsequent investigation showed the permit expired about six weeks prior to the incident under review.

3 of good cause with respect to false statements and ordered the CHP to turn over to the court “the name, the address and the phone number of any complainant or witness, as well as the date of the incident. That would be limited to a period of five years immediately preceding the incident in this case. I would intend to do a―an in camera review.” Following the court’s in camera hearing, it announced in open court that there were “no records to be discovered.” On June 14, 2012, defendant filed a motion to suppress the three items of evidence seized from his car―the black 9 mm handgun found in the glove compartment, the stainless steel .380 caliber handgun found in the glove compartment, and the billy club found in the trunk―on grounds they were discovered in a warrantless search following an unlawful traffic stop and were the fruits of the poisonous tree. (§ 1538.5) The prosecution argued the search and seizure had followed a lawful detention based upon reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation. The search of the car after the first gun was spotted in the glove box was also authorized as a weapons search. Defense counsel agreed that the only issue was the legality of the stop: if the detention was lawful then defendant would not challenge the subsequent search of the car. The motion was heard on September 10, 2012. Defendant testified at the suppression hearing that he had been wearing his seat belt the whole time he was driving the car on the date in question. He had been on his way to pick up his two daughters when he was stopped by Adams. He recalled fastening his seat belt before starting to drive. It was his custom to always buckle his seat belt so as to be a good role model for his children. Defendant testified he saw Adams’s car drive through the intersection at Myrtle Avenue and McFarland Street. He noticed Adams looking at him. His seat belt was buckled at the time.

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