United States v. Artak Moskovyan

MEMORANDUM

Artak Moskovyan, having pled guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (b)(2)) and aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028A), challenges on appeal the district court’s denial of his motions to suppress evidence. Mos-kovyan contends that the warrantless inventory search of his car 'and subsequent search of his residence by police were unlawful. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

I

Police acting in a community caretaking capacity may impound an arrestee’s vehicle when the vehicle, if left unattended, risks being vandalized or stolen. Miranda v. City of Cornelius, 429 F.3d 858, 864 (9th Cir.2005) (citing United States v. Jensen, 425 F.3d 698, 706 (9th Cir.2005)). Here, Moskovyan’s luxury sedan, parked in an unfenced lot near a busy intersection, risked theft and vandalism, see Ramirez v. City of Buena Park, 560 F.3d 1012, 1025 (9th Cir.2009); Hallstrom v. City of Garden City, 991 F.2d 1473 , 1477 n. 4 (9th Cir.1993), and faced the additional risk of being towed because it was parked illegally, see United States v. Cervantes, t 703 F.3d 1135, 1141-42 (9th Cir.2012) (invalidating impoundment, in part, because…