People v. Ray CA5

INTRODUCTION

After denial of a motion to suppress, appellant Bridget Lea Ray entered into a plea agreement whereby she pled no contest to one count of violating Penal Code section 4573, bringing a controlled substance into jail. In exchange for her plea, other charges were dismissed and the agreed upon sentence would be 120 days work release, 240 hours community service, and three years’ probation. Ray was sentenced in accordance with the plea agreement. Ray timely appealed. Appellate counsel filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

On June 12, 2014, Deputy Sheriff Ben Harmonson was dispatched to check on the welfare of a woman slumped over the steering wheel of a parked car. When he arrived at the location, he saw Ray slumped over the steering wheel with an open container of alcohol in the cup holder next to her. Harmonson knocked on the window of the car several times; Ray woke up; and Harmonson asked her to open the locked door so he could speak with her. Harmonson noticed that Ray was talking rapidly and had a hard time holding still. He took her pulse and found it was elevated to 148 beats per minute.…