People v. Holmes CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

In September 2022, the Mendocino County District Attorney’s office filed a complaint in case number 22CR02463 charging Holmes with two counts: felony possession for sale of a controlled substance (Health & Saf.

1 Code, § 11351) and misdemeanor possession of cannabis or concentrated cannabis for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11359, subd. (b)). At the preliminary hearing that followed, evidence was presented that on September 2, 2022, a Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted an authorized probation search of Holmes at an area hotel room where Holmes appeared to be residing. The deputy testified that he found what was later determined to be 51 grams of fentanyl in powder form in Holmes’s pants pocket, which, the deputy testified, based on his training and experience, constituted 25,500 doses of the drug. The deputy also found that Holmes possessed cash of about $4,000, later determined to be $4,411. The deputy also testified that, based on his training and experience, Holmes’s possession of the fentanyl was consistent with a person being in possession of it for purposes of sales. No evidence was presented regarding any cannabis. At the conclusion of the hearing,…