Reyes
People v. Reyes
Opinion
Opinion
Crosby, J.
Manuel Henry Reyes pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine after the superior court denied his motion to suppress. Reyes contends the use of a ruse by the police led to an unlawful detention and any consent to a warrantless search of his person was a product of that illegality. We agree and reverse.
I
On the afternoon of October 12, 1998, five narcotics officers from the Anaheim Police Department, led by investigator Michael Haggerty, went to a local apartment. Their mission was to conduct a narcotics investigation at a residence occupied by a parolee, Deborah Ann Leathers. The plan was simple enough: employ a ruse to get “the door [of the apartment] open.” They planned to ask to search anyone who came outside.
A registration check revealed a white truck parked in the alley behind the apartment building belonged to one Manuel Reyes. Haggerty, garbed in jeans and a T-shirt, walked up to the front door. Peering through a closed screen door, the officer saw defendant inside the living room and asked whether he owned the white truck parked in the alley. Reyes responded, “Yes, why?” Haggerty falsely stated he had struck the truck.