Greenwood

Officers on patrol ran a computer check on a vehicle through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records, which indicated registration of the vehicle expired two years earlier. The vehicle had a temporary permit affixed to the rear window. The officers stopped the vehicle and discovered a phencyclidine cigarette. The trial court denied a motion to suppress the cigarette as a product of an unlawful vehicle stop, distinguishing People v. Hernandez (2008) 45 Cal.4th 295 [ 86 Cal.Rptr.3d 105 , 196 P.3d 806 ] (Hernandez). We affirm on the basis that the report from the DMV that the registration was not current, without any mention of a valid temporary permit, justified the vehicle stop.

Background

Defendant and appellant Albert Greenwood was charged with possession of phencyclidine in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11377, subdivision (a). The information alleged five prior prison terms (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)) and one prior conviction under the three strikes law (Pen. Code, §§ 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d), 667, subds. (b)-(i)). After denial of his motion to suppress the product of the vehicle stop under Penal Code section 1538.5, defendant entered a plea of…