People v. Vaquera CA4/3

FACTS

This case arises from an investigation by the Anaheim Police Department into online child exploitation. The investigation focused on peer-to-peer file sharing networks that allow users to transfer photos, videos and other information over the Internet. At one point, investigators discovered evidence of child pornography in a computer file that had been accessed by appellant’s computer. They then used this information to obtain a warrant to search appellant’s apartment, a second-story unit located on Leatrice Lane in Anaheim. Headed by Nathan Fay, a team of six uniformed officers executed the search warrant on March 1, 2012. All of the officers were armed, and some of them were wearing ballistic vests with the word “POLICE” emblazoned on them. The first people they encountered at the apartment were Maria S., her daughter, and her mother, all of

2 whom resided there. After having them exit the apartment, Fay yelled out for anyone else who was inside to make their presence known, and appellant – a friend of the S. family who also lived at the apartment – came to the door. Maria’s husband and her two sons, 16-year-old Jonathan and 11-year-old Miguel, also lived at the…