In Re Baraka H.

Baraka H. appeals from a dispositional order of the juvenile court predicated on a finding that he possessed marijuana for sale. Appellant contends that the court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence consisting of marijuana taken from a paper bag found at the time of his arrest. We find no convincing evidence that defendant possessed a reasonable expectation of privacy in the bag at the time of the search. Accordingly, we affirm.

Background

About 4:15 p.m. on January 7, 1991, undercover Oakland Police Officer Orozco watched appellant from an unmarked car parked on the east curb of 73rd Avenue. Appellant was standing on the southeast comer of 73d and Hamilton, 30 to 40 feet in front of Officer Orozco, flagging down cars. Three times in ten minutes, a car so hailed would stop on the west side of the street, pointed southbound, and appellant would approach the driver. After a short conversation appellant would walk back to the street corner, where a crumpled paper bag was sitting on the ground, among some leaves, in a small grass area next to a ramp leading to a walkway passing over Hegenberger Road. The bag was hidden from traffic on the north side of…