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People v. Gorak12/8/1987
COURT OF APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA, FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION THREE
No. A036909
1987.CA.40079 ; 196 Cal. App. 3d 1032; 242 Cal. Rptr. 307
December 8, 1987
THE PEOPLE, PLAINTIFF AND RESPONDENT,
v.
CHRISTOPHER ALLEN GORAK, DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT
Superior Court of Sonoma County, No. 14064C, Rex H. Sater and Arnold Rosenfield, Judges.
Steven F. Shatz, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, Steve White, Chief Assistant Attorney General, John H. Sugiyama, Assistant Attorney General, Ann K. Jensen and Cynthia Choy Ong, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Opinion by White, P. J., with Barry-Deal and Merrill, JJ., concurring.
White
Defendant and appellant Christopher Allen Gorak appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court of Sonoma County entered after he entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charge of receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, § 496) and the charge of burglary (Pen. Code, § 459) was dismissed on the motion of the district attorney. Appellant's sole contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence (an air compressor) pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5. Appellant contends on appeal that the seizure of the air compressor cannot be justified as an inventory or caretaking function; the seizure of the air compressor was the fruit of an illegal detention and arrest; and the theory of inevitable discovery is not applicable to the instant case.
In order to address appellant's contention that his motion to suppress was improperly denied it is necessary to set out the evidence that was introduced at the Penal Code section 1538.5 hearing. Deputy Sheriff Kevin Young testified that on August 17, 1986, at approximately 12:40 a.m., he made a traffic stop of a vehicle with no license plate lights in violation of Vehicle Code section 24601. Appellant was the driver and the sole occupant of the vehicle, which was a white Pinto sedan. While Young was checking appellant's identification, he saw a large green air compressor in the back seat of the car. The electrical lines and air lines appeared to have been broken off because the ends of the lines were frayed and jagged. Water was leaking out of a broken line.
Although Young had no information concerning the theft of an air compressor, he suspected the air compressor might have been stolen. Deputy Young asked appellant to exit his vehicle which appellant did. Young then inquired of appellant from where he had obtained the air compressor. Appellant replied that he had obtained the air compressor from a friend for $25. Young testified that during the time that he was asking appellant simple questions, appellant seemed agitated. "He was grinding his teeth and he was clinching his fists." The deputy asked appellant to stand still, but appellant was unable to do so and continued to walk back and forth. Deputy Young suspected that appellant might be under the influence of a controlled substance. Deputy Young had not had much experience in evaluating people who were under the influence of a controlled substance.
Because of appellant's behav
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