People v. Lavery CA6

I. FACTS1 AND TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

On September 14, 2012, Lieutenant Larry Richard, a twelve-year veteran with the City of Santa Cruz Police Department, responded to a dispatch in the Harvey West area of Santa Cruz. Richard knew that area for its drug activity, having made previous arrests

1 The facts are drawn from the hearing on defendant’s motion to suppress. there for possession of heroin, methamphetamine, and other illegal drugs. The dispatch concerned a street disturbance involving yelling and screaming among five people, including one person on a bicycle and another person associated with a white truck with a red camper shell. The dispatch also indicated that the subjects possibly were dealing drugs, “handing small stuff to a subject in a white pickup with a red camper shell.” Finding no one at the referenced location, Richard drove through the area and spotted a white pickup truck with a red camper shell parked a few blocks away, at Encinal and Dubois Streets. Richard also noticed three people crouched behind a garbage can near a picnic table across the street from the truck, at 399 Encinal Street. It was after 9 p.m. and the business at that address was closed. The…