People v. Isais CA4/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On February 17, 2022, at approximately 10:35 a.m., Santa Ana Police Officer Duarte and Deputy Probation Officer Rollon entered a parking lot in Santa Ana in a marked police car.1 A gray Nissan was parked in the west side of the lot. There were no other vehicles near the Nissan, but a man was standing outside the driver’s window. When the man saw the police car enter the parking lot, he began to walk away. Based on his experience, Officer Duarte recognized the man’s “distancing of himself” from the Nissan upon seeing the officers as behavior consistent with a potential narcotics sale. Officer Duarte had 10 years of experience as a police officer and had made over a dozen narcotics arrests and participated in more than a hundred investigations involving narcotics sales. He had patrolled the area before and understood it was adjacent to a high narcotics traffic area. Officer Duarte believed the Nissan was occupied, and he confirmed that belief by circling the police car around the Nissan. He then parked the police car a short distance behind the Nissan. Officer Duarte did not block the Nissan with the patrol car or in any way impede the Nissan’s ability…