People v. Quintana CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On the morning of March 25, 2012, Watsonville police officers executed a search warrant for the garage of a residence located at 157 Manana Lane. Quintana came to the garage door and admitted the officers. Inside the two-car garage, there was plastic sheeting hanging from the ceiling to create a partitioned area which contained a bed and various other furnishings, including a working television and refrigerator, as well as a propane grill. When police entered the garage, a woman, Melissa Lara, was sleeping on the bed. Lara was cooperative and, because she did not appear to be under the influence of drugs and disavowed being involved with drugs, was released. In a closed dresser drawer near the foot of the bed, police found a white pill bottle containing four small red plastic bindles. The bindles were heat-sealed and contained a white crystalline substance, later determined to be methamphetamine. Each bindle had a gross weight of 0.3 grams. A police officer testified, based on his training and experience, that each bindle would sell for $20 or $30. In the top drawer of a nightstand next to the bed police found a glass pipe with a black…