The People v. Zapata CA4/3

FACTS

In March 2005, defendant was driving his vehicle when he was stopped by police officer Ramiro Vergara for not wearing a seat belt and failing to signal before turning. A DMV check revealed the vehicle was registered to Juan Zapata, defendant’s brother, and that the registration was expired. Defendant identified himself as Juan

2 Zapata, with a birth date of December 18, 1984, and told Vergara the vehicle belonged to his girlfriend. A records check showed Juan Zapata did not have a driver’s license. After backup arrived, Vergara found a pipe in defendant’s pocket, plus bullets and a loaded gun in the vehicle. Defendant was arrested and taken to the police station, where he maintained his name was Juan Zapata. Vergara completed a prebooking form with the information defendant provided. He collected evidence from defendant’s hands to test for gunshot residue (GSR) under the name of Juan Zapata and sent it to the lab for testing under that name. A DNA sample was also taken from defendant and booked under the name Juan Zapata. Fingerprints later revealed defendant was actually Jesus Zapata with a birth date in 1978. Upon being confronted with the information, defendant pleaded…