People v. Rodriguez CA1/4

I. FACTS

On the afternoon of April 15, 2012, Officer Miguel Aguiar was on patrol in Brentwood when he observed defendant standing outside of a Ford Thunderbird in the carport of the apartment complex at 100 Village Drive. Aguiar knew defendant from previous contacts. Defendant was on parole and subject to a search clause. Aguiar searched defendant and found keys in his right front pants pocket. Aguiar used defendant’s keys to open the Ford Thunderbird which defendant said he had recently purchased. Officer Peter Folena, who also responded to the scene with other officers, found nothing relevant in the car. They proceeded to Apartment 221 at 100 Village Drive. Dennis Resendez responded to the door and consented to a search of his apartment. The police found a black briefcase inside Resendez’s apartment. Sergeant Misquez contacted Aguiar and obtained the keys that had been seized from defendant. Among the keys were four small padlock keys, all of which fit the two padlocks that were on the briefcase. Inside the briefcase, the police found two large plastic bags that contained smaller baggies with a crystal-like substance. The briefcase also contained a black replica firearm with a…