P. v. Cobb

Filed 8/14/06 P. v. Cobb CA2/4

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Darlene E. Schempp, Judge. Affirmed.

Christine C. Shaver, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters and J. Michael Lehmann, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Seakean Cobb pleaded guilty to possession of rock cocaine after his motion to suppress evidence was denied. On appeal, he challenges the initial detention and subsequent search of his person. We find no basis for suppression and affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

In November 2004, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Jason Wagner and his partner, Detective McKinney, conducted narcotics surveillance around Erwin Street and Lankershim Boulevard in Los Angeles. Officer Wagner noticed a female drug user waiting near a public telephone. He saw her get into a vehicle in a parking lot across the street. The vehicle drove her back across the street to the telephone and let her out. Officer Wagner suspected that the driver of the vehicle might be a drug dealer because the behavior was consistent with call and deliver drug sales. The vehicle then made several stops. In one of these, it stopped in the middle of the street. The police officers saw a man approach the window, have a brief conversation with the driver, and reach his hands into the vehicle. The vehicle then stopped in an alley, where a man approached the window and had a conversation with the driver. Officer Wagner saw the driver sift through a plastic bindle, recover something from it, and hand it to the man at the window. The man handed the driver something in exchange.

Watching further, the officers saw the vehicle start driving erratically. Believing that their surveillance had been detected, the officers stopped the vehicle. Officer Wagner recognized defendant and knew that his driver's license had been suspended. The police officers identified themselves and directed defendant to exit the vehicle, telling him that he was being detained for a narcotics investigation.

Officer Wagner conducted a pat-down search of defendant. He noticed that defendant's â€