Benites

Introduction

Appellant, James Edward Benites, was arrested with one Robert Dean Stanfill on various charges including receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools, possession of a loaded firearm in public and being an ex-felon owning a concealable firearm. The property was discovered after a routine traffic stop by a Tuolumne County deputy sheriff which revealed that appellant and his passenger both had suspended licenses. The officer decided to impound the van and conducted an inventory search, which resulted in the discovery of a loaded shotgun and other evidence. Appellant moved to suppress the evidence, arguing that the officer’s decision to impound the vehicle was improper and the evidence seized during the inventory search was fruits of that improper search. The superior court denied the suppression motion, and appellant filed a petition for writ of mandate with this court. In the petition, appellant argued that the officer improperly decided to impound the vehicle, there were no local procedures on impounding and conducting inventory searches, and the officer relied on the impoundment decision as a ruse to search his van. This court denied…