P. v. Ochoa
Filed 4/21/06 P. v. Ochoa CA4/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. OSCAR JUVENAL OCHOA, Defendant and Appellant. | G035085 (Super. Ct. No. 04CF1584) O P I N I O N |
Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Richard M. King, Judge. Affirmed.
Linn Davis, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, and Daniel Rogers, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
* * *
Oscar Juvenal Ochoa pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of cocaine base for sale, and possession of a controlled substance with a firearm after the trial court denied his motion to suppress. He contends the police officer investigating his parking violation unconstitutionally prolonged his detention, vitiating his consent for the officer to search his rental vehicle for the rental agreement. During the search, the officer discovered the firearm and cocaine base. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment.
I
Facts
On May 22, 2004, sometime after 12:30 a.m., Santa Ana Police Officer Edward Gutierrez turned his patrol car into a motel parking lot located in a high-crime area known for narcotics trafficking.[1] He spied a man on foot engaged in conversation with the driver of a compact car parked in a handicapped parking space. Gutierrez noticed the vehicle displayed no handicapped placard hanging from the rear view mirror or affixed to the license plate. Defendant sat in the driver's seat and a female sat in the passenger seat. When Gutierrez made a U-turn, the man on foot departed. Gutierrez parked his vehicle behind and to the side of the compact car, but did not block its path.
As Gutierrez approached the driver's side of the vehicle, he used his handset to radio the car's license plate number to the police dispatcher. Dispatch records showed this call came in at 00:42:49 a.m., i.e., 42 minutes and 49 seconds past midnight. Defendant was talking on a cell phone when Gutierrez contacted him. Gutierrez asked whether he had a handicapped placard, and defendant replied, â€
