People v. Cain CA4/1

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted David Louis Cain on two counts of possession of heroin

for sale (Health and Saf. Code § 11350, subd. (a)–counts 1 and 5);1 one count of possession of methamphetamine for sale (§ 11378–count 2); and two counts of possession of methamphetamine (§ 11377, subd. (a)–counts 3 and 4). The charges stemmed from three separate instances. In two of the three instances, police officers found Cain passed out in a vehicle and initiated contact to ensure that he was not overdosing or otherwise in need of medical attention. In each instance, after Cain regained consciousness, the officers asked him for identification, discovered that he had a Fourth Amendment waiver, and conducted a search of the vehicle based on the waiver. On appeal, Cain asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained during one of those searches, and by instructing the jury to continue deliberating after they informed the court they were having trouble reaching an agreement on counts 2 and 3. We are not persuaded by either argument and affirm the judgment.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The January 27, 2021 Encounter At approximately…