In re Pedro B. CA4/1 ( 2013 )

Filed 11/26/13 In re Pedro B. CA4/1
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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.
COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In re PEDRO B., a Person Coming Under
the Juvenile Court Law.
D063071
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA,
(Super. Ct. No. J227568)
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
PEDRO B.,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Carlos O.
Armour, Judge. Affirmed as modified with directions.
Alissa Bjerkhoel, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney
General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Barry Carlton and Karl T. Terp,
Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Pedro B. appeals from a juvenile court's true finding that he possessed a billy club
in violation of Penal Code section 22210. He contends he was detained and searched in
violation of the Fourth Amendment, and accordingly the juvenile court erred in denying
his motion to suppress the evidence obtained in that search. He further contends the court
failed to declare whether the offense was a felony or a misdemeanor as required by
statute, and did not calculate the number of predisposition custody credits to which he is
entitled. We modify the judgment to specify that Pedro is entitled to 30 days'
predisposition custody credits. As so modified, the judgment is affirmed.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On November 1, 2012, San Diego police officers Keelan McCullough and Levi
Merriman responded to a radio call of a pending fight between about 10 males at an
elementary school. As the officers drove to the area, the police dispatcher informed them
that the males had dispersed down an alley adjacent to the school. Some of the males
traveled on foot, while others rode bicycles.
As the officers neared the elementary school, they saw three males on a sidewalk
approximately one block from the school, traveling in the direction that the dispatcher
had indicated. One male was riding a bicycle, while the other two were moving
"quickly" on foot. Intending to detain the males to investigate a possible fight, the
officers blocked the males' path with their patrol car and exited the car. Officer
Merriman ordered Pedro, who was on foot, to "stop." Ignoring the order, Pedro
continued to walk in the same direction he had been going. However, because the
officers' patrol car blocked Pedro's path, Pedro walked around the car and into the street
2
as he asked, "What for?" As he did so, Pedro, in one motion, stared at Officer Merriman,
turned so that the right side of his body was no longer visible to the officer, moved his
right hand toward his right pocket, and began to lift the portion of his shirt that covered
his right pocket.
Based on his training and experience, Officer Merriman believed Pedro's
movements indicated the intent to discard contraband or a weapon.1 Officer Merriman
quickly repositioned himself so he could see Pedro's right hand and blocked Pedro's path
as he did so. Officer Merriman saw an exposed metal object as Pedro lifted his shirt,
grabbed Pedro's right hand before he could reach the object, and removed it from Pedro's
pocket. The object was a 10-inch hollow metal pipe that appeared to be part of a bicycle
seat.
On November 5, 2012, the People filed a petition against Pedro under Welfare and
Institutions Code section 602, alleging that Pedro unlawfully possessed a billy club and
should be continued as a ward of the juvenile court.2 After denying Pedro's motion to
1 Officer Merriman testified he had seen people "removing a weapon or discarding
contraband [¶] . . . [¶] . . . well above 50 to 100 times" during the more than three years
he spent in the mid-city division of the San Diego police department. He testified that in
his experience, a person's lifting of his or her shirt and looking at the officer was often the
"first maneuver" that preceded reaching into a pocket when he or she possessed a weapon
or contraband that he or she did not want to possess when contacted by the police.
2 All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise
specified. Pedro was first adjudged a ward of the juvenile court on February 24, 2011,
for misdemeanor resisting or obstructing a peace officer and for misdemeanor possession
or transfer of a switchblade knife. He was continued a ward of the court on May 30,
2012, for felony possession of a dirk or dagger. He was on probation at the time of the
instant offense.
3
suppress, the court sustained the petition; continued Pedro as a ward of the court; stated
the offense was a felony; and ordered him placed in Camp Barrett for a period not to
exceed 365 days.
DISCUSSION
I. Denial of the Suppression Motion
Challenging the court's denial of his suppression motion, Pedro argues Officer
Merriman seized him without the requisite reasonable suspicion necessary to justify the
investigatory stop. He further asserts the "plain view" exception to the Fourth
Amendment did not apply because Officer Merriman would not have seen the billy club
but for the unlawful detention.
A. Applicable Law
"In ruling on a motion to suppress, the trial court must find the historical facts,
select the rule of law, and apply it to the facts in order to determine whether the law as
applied has been violated. We review the court's resolution of the factual inquiry under
the deferential substantial-evidence standard. The ruling on whether the applicable law
applies to the facts is a mixed question of law and fact that is subject to independent
review." (People v. Saunders (2006) 38 Cal. 4th 1129, 1133-1134.)
"Any police restraint of the liberty of an individual either by physical force or by
an assertion of authority to which the individual submits, in circumstances in which a
reasonable person would have believed he or she was not free to leave, will constitute a
state 'seizure' of the individual within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment." (People v.
Soun (1995) 34 Cal. App. 4th 1499, 1515.) A Fourth Amendment seizure occurs only
4
when an officer intentionally applies hands-on, physical restraint to a suspect (California
v. Hodari D. (1991) 499 U.S. 621, 626; Brower v. County of Inyo (1989) 489 U.S. 593,
596-597), or initiates a show of authority to which a reasonable, innocent person would
feel compelled to submit (Florida v. Bostick (1991) 501 U.S. 429, 434, 438) and to which
the suspect actually does submit (Brendlin v. California (2007) 551 U.S. 249, 254;
California v. Hodari D., supra, 499 U.S. at p. 626). "Such a seizure is normally
characterized as either a 'detention' or an 'arrest.' " (Soun, supra, 34 Cal.App.4th at p.
1515.)
For a detention to be lawful, "the circumstances known or apparent to the officer
must include specific and articulable facts [which would cause the officer] to suspect that
(1) some activity relating to crime has taken place or is occurring or about to occur, and
(2) the person [the officer] intends to stop or detain is involved in that activity." (In re
Tony C. (1978) 21 Cal. 3d 888, 893.) "[T]he reasonable suspicion standard . . . is not a
particularly demanding one, but is, instead, 'considerably less than proof of wrongdoing
by a preponderance of the evidence.' " (People v. Letner and Tobin (2010) 50 Cal. 4th 99,
146.) This approach allows officers to draw on their own training and experience in
deciding whether criminal activity is afoot. (United States v. Arvizu (2002) 534 U.S. 266,
273.) The detention is valid so long as the officer can " ' "provide some objective
manifestation that the person detained may be involved in criminal activity." ' " (Letner,
supra, at p. 145.)
5
B. The Detention
We first determine at what point Pedro was detained for Fourth Amendment
purposes. Pedro argues he was detained at the moment Officer Merriman blocked his
path with the patrol car and ordered him to stop. However, a seizure did not occur at that
moment because Pedro was not physically restrained and did not submit to Officer
Merriman's display of authority. (California v. Hodari D., supra, 499 U.S. at p. 626;
Brendlin v. California, supra, 551 U.S. at p. 254.) Rather than submit to Officer
Merriman's authority, Pedro continued walking and circumvented the patrol car that
blocked his path. Officer Merriman detained Pedro the moment the officer repositioned
his body and blocked Pedro's path so that he could see the movements Pedro was making
with his hidden right hand. At that moment, although the officer did not physically arrest
Pedro's movement, his physical presence in Pedro's path stopped Pedro from continuing
to walk away.
C. Reasonable Suspicion
Pedro contends Officer Merriman lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him. He
argues the officer did not articulate facts which caused him to believe a crime had
occurred, was occurring, or was about to occur. Pedro also argues he was simply a
pedestrian, and the officer lacked a reasonable basis to believe he was associated with the
reported pending fight. We first determine whether some objective manifestation existed
that Pedro and his two companions were the subjects of the radio call. We then
determine whether the officers had an articulable basis to believe a crime had occurred,
was occurring, or was about to occur.
6
First, the officers had sufficient basis to believe that the three males they stopped
were connected to the pending fight at the elementary school. The males matched the
general description in the radio call (i.e., males leaving the area of an elementary school
on bicycle or on foot), were stopped a short distance from the school, were stopped
shortly after the pending fight was reported, and were "quickly" traveling away from the
nearby scene. In light of these facts, the officers could temporarily detain the males to
determine whether they were in fact the males who had gathered to fight at the
elementary school. Although Pedro argues that he was simply a pedestrian in the area,
the Supreme Court has long held that potentially innocent explanations for persons'
conduct do not divest officers of the ability to initiate temporary investigative stops.
(Illinois v. Wardlow (2000) 528 U.S. 119, 125-126; People v. Letner and Tobin, supra,
50 Cal.4th at pp. 146-147.)
Next, the record supports the court's finding that "some activity relating to crime
has taken place or is occurring or about to occur." (In re Tony C., supra, 21 Cal.3d at
p. 893.) Prior to contacting Pedro, Officer Merriman had been informed of a pending
fight at the nearby elementary school. Fighting is a crime under California law (Pen.
Code, § 415, subd. (1)), and persons gathering to fight may also be involved in other
criminal activities associated with fighting. Moreover, Pedro's actions after the initial
contact supplied Officer Merriman an additional basis to detain him. In response to
Officer Merriman's order to stop, Pedro initiated a series of evasive movements that in
the officer's training and experience indicated possession of a weapon or contraband.
(See generally, Illinois v. Wardlow, supra, 528 U.S. at p. 124 ["[N]ervous, evasive
7
behavior is a pertinent factor in determining reasonable suspicion."].) Although Pedro
argues that "[t]he fact that [he] reached into his pocket and turned his body away from
Officer Merriman is insignificant," the court could reasonably conclude these actions
were highly significant based on Officer Merriman's testimony that they suggest a person
is armed or carrying contraband.
Pedro's contention that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion because a fight
never actually took place is based on an unduly narrow view of police investigatory
authority. Police officers may detain persons in order to investigate "criminal activity"
even though the officer has not identified a specific criminal statute the person has
actually violated before the stop. (See Illinois v. Wardlow, supra, 528 U.S. at p. 124.) In
Wardlow, the Supreme Court upheld the detention of a person who immediately fled
from officers as they drove into an area known for narcotics activity. (Ibid.) After the
officers detained the person, they discovered a handgun. (Id.at p. 122.) The officers had
not received a radio call about any particular person, had not witnessed Wardlow engage
in any identifiable criminal activity, and had not identified any specific criminal statute
he had violated. (See id. at p. 124.) The lack of a specific criminal statute
notwithstanding, the Supreme Court held the officers could detain Wardlow to investigate
"criminal activity" on the basis of his unprovoked headlong flight from them in a high
crime area. (Id. at pp. 124-125 ["In this case . . . it was not merely respondent's presence
in an area of heavy narcotics trafficking that aroused the officers' suspicion but his
unprovoked flight upon noticing the police. . . . We conclude [the officer] was justified
in suspecting that Wardlow was involved in criminal activity, and, therefore, in
8
investigating further."].) In other words, Wardlow's behavior raised suspicion that he
may be involved in some sort of criminal activity, and officers may temporarily detain
such persons—even without knowledge of a completed crime—to determine what type of
criminal activity, if any, is afoot.
Here, as in Wardlow, although Officer Merriman did not identify a specific
criminal statute he could charge Pedro with at the time of the detention, he was justified
in stopping Pedro to further investigate his involvement in criminal activity, given that
the officer had sufficient basis to suspect Pedro was connected to the pending fight at the
elementary school. At the moment Officer Merriman detained Pedro, the officer had
reasonable basis to detain him to investigate criminal activity related to a possible fight
and possible possession of a weapon or contraband. Accordingly, neither Officer
Merriman's detention of Pedro nor the subsequent discovery of the billy club ran afoul of
the Fourth Amendment. The court did not err in denying Pedro's motion to suppress.
II. Designation of the Offense as a Felony
Pedro next contends the juvenile court erred because it did not fulfill its
statutorily-mandated duty to consider and declare whether the offense of possession of a
billy club was a misdemeanor or a felony.
Possessing a billy club is a "wobbler," in that it may be punished as either a
misdemeanor or a felony. (Pen. Code, § 22210.) Section 702 requires: "If the minor is
found to have committed an offense which would in the case of an adult be punishable
alternatively as a felony or a misdemeanor, the court shall declare the offense to be a
misdemeanor or felony."
9
Here, the court stated: "[T]he overall term that [Pedro] now is exposed to is four
years, two months [as a] result of the true finding on Count 1. And I am fixing this as a
felony at this time." (Italics added.) The court's statement that it was "fixing" the offense
as a "felony at this time" reflects that it consciously elected a felony classification. We
presume the court knows and follows the law. (People v. Stowell (2003) 31 Cal. 4th 1107,
1114; People v. Mosley (1997) 53 Cal. App. 4th 489, 496.) This presumption, combined
with the court's clear statement that it was selecting a felony classification, suffices to
show the court complied with its obligation to decide whether the offense was a felony or
misdemeanor.
III. Predisposition Custody Credits
Pedro contends the court did not calculate the predisposition custody credits to
which he is entitled, and the case should be remanded for this purpose. Pedro and the
People agree that he is entitled to 30 days' predisposition credits; accordingly we may
correct the error without a remand. (See People v. Engquist (1990) 218 Cal. App. 3d 228,
233.) We modify the judgment to state that Pedro is entitled to 30 days' predisposition
custody credits.
10
DISPOSITION
The judgment is modified to state that Pedro is entitled to 30 days' predisposition
custody credits. As so modified, the judgment is affirmed. The juvenile court shall
forward a copy of the modified judgment to the proper authorities.
HALLER, J.
WE CONCUR:
HUFFMAN, Acting P. J.
MCINTYRE, J.
11