The People v. Tarrance CA3

Facts from Case No. 5533 On July 10, 2012, law enforcement officers Robert Bianchi and Allen Serpa were looking for defendant to talk to him. The officers located defendant’s pickup truck in a parking lot and found defendant at a local store where he was playing horseshoes. Defendant said the pickup was his and the pickup’s registration listed defendant as the owner. Noting that the pickup truck lacked license plates and the VIN plate was missing from the front dashboard, Bianchi decided to impound it. Defendant asked if he could remove his groceries from the pickup and Bianchi agreed to let him do so, but not until Serpa had searched the vehicle. Officer Serpa’s search revealed a zippered pouch in the console which contained nine bindles of methamphetamine, weighing a total of 12.6 grams, and packaged consistent with being possessed for sale. Defendant was arrested and taken to jail. Daniel Bello testified that he had known defendant for 15 years, and that he was both living with defendant and playing horseshoes with him at the time of his arrest. The pickup was considered a ranch truck; it was used to run errands and was available for others to use. The pickup was left unlocked,…