People v. Saphieh CA5

FACTS

At the suppression hearing, Officer Hernandez testified that on March 21, 2012, he conducted a traffic stop of a Yukon sports utility vehicle driven by defendant because the vehicle was missing a front license plate, a violation of Vehicle Code section 5200.1 The officer was driving in the opposite direction of defendant’s vehicle when the officer noticed it was missing the front license plate. It was daylight and the officer had a clear view of the front of the vehicle when he made this determination. The officer turned around and followed defendant. The officer noticed that the back of the vehicle had a dealer placard on the back plate. This did not eliminate his suspicion because he knew it was common for criminals to use dealer plates to go undetected when they stole vehicles. The officer stopped the vehicle because he wanted to check the registration and make sure the vehicle was not stolen. He did not notice the temporary permit on the windshield until after he pulled the vehicle over. Defense counsel argued at the hearing that People v. Hernandez (2008) 45 Cal.4th 295 (Hernandez) required the court to grant defendant’s motion to suppress. The court, however,…