United States v. Pedro Garcia

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION DEC 08 2011 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 10-10599 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 2:08-cr-00353-RLH-RJJ- 1 v. PEDRO JOSE GARCIA, MEMORANDUM * Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Roger L. Hunt, Senior District Judge, Presiding Submitted December 6, 2011 ** San Francisco, California Before: TROTT and BEA, Circuit Judges, and PALLMEYER, District Judge.*** Pedro Garcia appeals the denial of his suppression of evidence motion * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, District Judge for the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois, sitting by designation. following which he was convicted by a jury of (1) being a felon in possession of a firearm and (2) possession of a controlled substance. During a lawful traffic stop, Officer Sutton saw from outside Garcia’s car a clear baggy containing a crystalline substance resting on the car’s center console. Garcia does not dispute that the baggy was in Officer Sutton’s plain view. The court concluded that Officer Sutton’s determination that the baggy contained a controlled substance was reasonable for someone with his experience and training. The record amply supports the court’s conclusion, allowing for a search of Garcia’s car pursuant to the “automobile exception.” California v. Carney, 471 U.S. 386, 391 (1985); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (1925). Thus, Garcia’s motion to suppress was properly denied. The court’s credibility findings on other issues are not relevant to the court’s findings on this issue. AFFIRMED. 2