People v. Bishop CA4/1
- Proceeding
- appeal from a judgment
- Trial court
- Superior Court of San Diego County · No. SCD244507
- Trial judge
- Eugenia Eyherabide
- Outcome
- affirmed — Affirmed.
- Area
- criminal
- Panel
- Patricia D. Benke (author), McINTYRE, Cynthia Aaron
Analysis
The trial court denied Bishop's motion to suppress evidence found during an inventory search of his vehicle, finding the initial stop was supported by reasonable suspicion and the search was proper. The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment, finding no reasonably arguable issues on appeal after a Wende review.
| Ruling reviewed | Standard | The court | The model |
|---|---|---|---|
Denial of motion to suppress evidence from inventory search“The record fully supports the trial court's determination that the deputy sheriff had reasonable suspicion to stop the Sebring and that, thereafter, law enforcement officers acted properly in seizing and subjecting the car to an inventory search.” | unclear | correct | agree with court agree with court |
Authorities
- relied: People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 — Mandates independent review of the record by appointed appellate counsel to ensure adequate representation and identify reasonably arguable issues.
- relied: People v. Griffin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1011 — The propriety of a warrantless seizure and search where the vehicle is itself evidence or the instrumentality of a crime is implicit in United States Supreme Court decisions.
The appellate opinion: sound with gaps — sound
How this analysis was made · dispute it
unusual dispositionThe trial court denied Bishop's motion to suppress evidence found in an inventory search of a car after a traffic stop, finding reasonable suspicion for the stop and a proper inventory search; Bishop then pled guilty to burglary and felony eluding, admitted a gang enhancement, and received a suspended seven-year-eight-month term with three years' probation. On a Wende appeal in which counsel raised no argument and Bishop filed no supplemental brief, the Court of Appeal independently reviewed the record, found no arguable issues, and affirmed.
| Ruling reviewed | Standard | The court | The model |
|---|---|---|---|
Denial of motion to suppress items found in the inventory search of the Sebring (reasonable suspicion for the stop; propriety of seizure and inventory search)“The record fully supports the trial court's determination that the deputy sheriff had reasonable suspicion to stop the Sebring and that, thereafter, law enforcement officers acted properly in seizing and subjecting the car to an inventory search.” | unclear | correct | agree with court The witness supplied a license plate, vehicle description, occupant description and direction of travel for a car used in an in-progress burglary, and the deputy located a matching car minutes later; that is ample reasonable suspicion for a stop. The car then fled at high speed and crashed, its occupants ran, and the car was itself an instrumentality of the eluding offense and the burglary, so seizure and an inventory search at the station were proper under Griffin and the Supreme Court authority it cites. |
Judgment of conviction and sentence following guilty plea (reviewed under Wende for any arguable issue)“Our review of the record pursuant to People v. Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436 has disclosed no reasonably arguable appellate issues.” | unclear | correct | agree with court Counsel filed a Wende brief, the defendant was invited to and declined to file a supplemental brief, and the court independently reviewed the record; nothing in the recited facts suggests an unaddressed arguable issue. The opinion is conclusory, as Wende opinions typically are, so independent verification is limited to what is recited. |
Authorities
- relied: People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 — When appointed counsel files a brief raising no issues, the appellate court must independently review the entire record for arguable issues.
- relied: People v. Griffin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1011 — A warrantless seizure and search of a vehicle that is itself evidence or the instrumentality of a crime is proper under United States Supreme Court precedent.
The appellate opinion: sound — The opinion applies the Wende procedure correctly, identifies the one issue counsel flagged, and resolves it with pertinent authority that fits the facts recited (a car matching an eyewitness's plate and description, flight, crash, and an inventory search of a vehicle used in the crimes). It does not state the standard of review for the suppression ruling, but in a Wende disposition with no adversarial briefing that omission does not undermine the result.
Opinion
Filed 5/29/14 P. v. Bishop 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 APEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THE PEOPLE, D064277
Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD244507)
MARCUS LAMONT BISHOP,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Eugenia Eyherabide, Judge. Affirmed.
Libby A. Ryan, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.
On November 12, 2012, a resident of Poway called the sheriff's department and reported that two men were attempting to break into her home, which she had fled. The witness also told the sheriff's dispatcher she saw an African-American male leaving a neighbor's house with a large television; the witness reported that she saw the male put the television into a black Sebring, which was occupied by a second African-American male, and that the two African-American males then drove away in the Sebring. The witness provided the dispatcher with the Sebring's license plate and its direction.
A sheriff's deputy responded to the area and saw a black Sebring with the license plate number reported by the witness and occupied by two adult African-American males. The deputy attempted to stop the Sebring but, in response to the lights and siren the deputy employed, the Sebring drove away at speeds approaching 90 miles an hour.
The deputy chased the Sebring for approximately a mile at which point the driver of the Sebring slammed on the brakes and lost control of the car, which then hit a wall. After the collision, defendant and appellant Marcus Bishop and his companion got out of the car and fled on foot. Eventually, Bishop was apprehended.
At the scene of the collision, the sheriff's deputy found two pawn slips on the ground with Bishop's name on them. The Sebring was towed to a sheriff's station where an inventory search was conducted and a sheriff's deputy found a Nook tablet, a television remote, an Apple laptop with power cords, a flat-screen television and packing tape. A witness who reported being burglarized identified the items as property taken from his home.
Bishop was charged by information with two counts of residential burglary (Pen.
Code, §§ 459, 460) and one count of felony eluding a peace officer (Veh. Code, § 2800.2). With respect to the burglary counts, it was alleged the crimes had been 2 committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang within the meaning of Penal Code section 186.22, subdivision (b)(1).
Prior to trial, Bishop moved to suppress the items discovered during the inventory search of the Sebring. The trial court denied the motion. The trial court found the sheriff's deputy had reasonable suspicion to initiate the traffic stop and seize the Sebring.
The trial court further found the inventory search was proper.
Bishop pled guilty to one count of burglary, the felony eluding count and admitted the gang enhancement. The trial court sentenced Bishop to the lower term of two years on the burglary count, a consecutive five-year term on the gang enhancement and eight months on the eluding count, for a total term of seven years eight months. However, the trial court then suspended the sentence and placed Bishop on three years' probation.
Bishop filed a timely notice of appeal.
DISCUSSION
Appointed appellate counsel has filed a brief summarizing the proceedings below.
Counsel presents no argument for reversal but asks this court to review the record for error as mandated by People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. Counsel suggests, as an issue for our review, whether the trial court erred in denying Bishop's motion to suppress the property found during the inventory search.
We granted Bishop permission to file a brief on his own behalf, and he has declined to do so.
Our review of the record pursuant to People v. Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436 has 3 disclosed no reasonably arguable appellate issues. The record fully supports the trial court's determination that the deputy sheriff had reasonable suspicion to stop the Sebring and that, thereafter, law enforcement officers acted properly in seizing and subjecting the car to an inventory search. (See People v. Griffin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1011, 1025 ["The propriety of a warrantless seizure and search where the vehicle is itself evidence or the instrumentality of a crime is implicit in a number of United States Supreme Court decisions . . . . [Citations.]"].)
We find that Bishop was adequately represented both at trial and on appeal.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
BENKE, Acting P. J.
WE CONCUR:
McINTYRE, J.
AARON, J.
Cites, in this corpus
- People v. Griffin S004352. Crim. No. 21753 · 1988-10-03
- People v. Wende Crim. 20851 · 1979-10-12