People v. Superior Court

The district attorney of Santa Barbara has petitioned this court for a writ of prohibition, which we treat as an application for a writ of mandate to require the trial court to vacate its order granting a motion to suppress the evidence in support of count I of the information.

Factual Background

At the evidentiary hearing pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5 Deputy Sheriff Cambum Eugene Da Foe of Santa Barbara County testified that he was on duty in the Isla Vista area at 2 p.m. on October 22, 1969. At approximately 2 p.m. he observed a VW van in an area where vehicles are not normally parked. The vehicle was located on a gravel surface halfway between the fence enclosing the General Motors plant and the paved road. The surrounding area is vacant land except for the General Motors plant. The nearest gate to the General Motors plant was a quarter of a mile from the place where the vehicle was parked. There were no other cars parked in the vicinity. No persons were observable in or near the vehicle. Officer Da Foe decided to check out the vehicle “to ascertain if it had been stolen or something was wrong with it, whether it was in mechanical difficulty, et cetera, to…