Hernandez

THANG N. BARRETT, Judge.

On September 23, 2001, Officer Kurtis Powell of the California Highway Patrol observed a Chevy Blazer with a front license plate frame that was ringed with a neon purple light. Believing that this constituted a violation of the Vehicle Code, Officer Powell made a car stop and, in the course of his investigation, discovered that defendant had been driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Defendant brought a motion to suppress in the trial court, claiming that the officer lacked a reasonable basis for believing the neon purple light around the license plate frame was unlawful. Agreeing with Officer Powell that the slight emitting from defendant's neon license plate frame could only be white or amber, [1] the trial court denied the motion. We reverse.

In a complaint filed on September 26, 2001, defendant was charged in count 1 with a violation of Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (a) [2] (driving while under the influence of alcohol), and in count 2 with a violation of section 23152, subdivision (b) (driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or more). The complaint also alleged that defendant had suffered two prior convictions for driving under…