People v. Ipina CA1/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

On the night of February 27, 2022, an Atherton police officer pulled over Ipina for driving 55 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone on El Camino Real. The area was dark and not well-lit. The officer approached the car and asked for Ipina’s driver’s license and proof of insurance. Ipina told the officer that his driver’s license had been stolen and provided a California identification card instead, along with insurance documentation. The officer proceeded to ask Ipina if he had smoked marijuana, to which Ipina responded that he had smoked “[e]arlier in the day.” Despite conducting two separate tests, the officer did not find “any” signs of impairment. The officer returned to his patrol car to write a traffic citation for speeding, which he left on the hood of his car. Upon his return, he shone a flashlight in Ipina’s car, which revealed on the front passenger seat a closed, black cardboard box with an image of a firearm. The box was within Ipina’s reach. The officer asked if the box contained a real firearm, which Ipina denied, explaining that it was an airsoft gun. The officer asked if there were any firearms or other weapons in the…