People v. Vasquez CA3

DISCUSSION

Defendant contends “the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress because the warrantless entry into the curtilage of [his] property was without an exception to the warrant requirement, there was no probable cause to arrest him, and the search of his backpack was not justifiable as a search incident to arrest.” We begin with the probable cause to arrest defendant. It is uncontroverted that the officer saw defendant commit two Vehicle Code violations: riding at night without a light and riding a bicycle on the wrong side of the street. (Veh. Code, §§ 21201, subd. (d)(1), 21650.1.) Based on these traffic infractions, the officer had a basis, at the very least, to detain defendant. Then, when defendant ran into his front yard and refused the officer’s repeated instructions to stop, there was probable cause for the officer to believe defendant was resisting or evading him in the performance of his duties, i.e., trying to detain defendant for the Vehicle Code violations. (People v. Curtis (1969) 70 Cal.2d 347, 356, fn. 6 [“[Penal Code] section 148 penalizes even passive delay or obstruction of an arrest, such as refusal to cooperate”], disapproved on another…