Woolsey

The defendant appeals from the judgment entered upon his plea of guilty to a misdemeanor violation of receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496, subd. 1). The plea of guilty was entered after his motion to suppress evidence under Penal Code section 1538.5 was denied.

Defendant contends Vehicle Code section 2805 is unconstitutional and thus his consent given in response to a California highway patrolman’s alleged authority under that section was coerced, rendering the search invalid. Consequently, the trial court committed prejudicial error in refusing to suppress the various items of evidence seized as the result of the unlawful search. For the reasons which we will discuss, we conclude the search was lawful and affirm the judgment.

Facts

In the early morning hours of August 6, 1977, Frank Roberts saw two men drive away in a reddish-orange 1967 pickup truck after they left a 1972 Chevy pickup truck on the street near his home. The abandoned vehicle was identified as having been stolen from Pete Ellis Ford; the windows, camper shell,.engine and component parts had been removed, leaving only the vehicle’s cab.

On September 1, 1977, while driving a 1967 reddish-orange…