Searches of Vehicles for Marijuana & Persons under the age of 21 may not legally possess marijuana.
A strong odor of burnt marijuana emanating from inside a motor vehicle provides probable cause to search that vehicle under the “automobile exception.” The fact that the occupants of the car were under the age of 21 insures the legality of a search of the vehicle for the source of the marijuana odor.
Twenty-year-old defendant Phillip Castro and two of his gangster companions were enjoying the pleasures of toking on some very potent weed while sitting in Castro’s car on the evening of June 22, 2020. Unfortunately for them, 9½-year LAPD veteran Officer Miguel Zendejas (assigned to the Foothill Gang Enforcement Detail) happened to drive by just as the party was reaching it height. Officer Zendejas’ partner, Officer Organista, ran the registration on the vehicle’s license plate, showing it to be expired. Intending to inquire as to the expired registration, Officers Zendejas and Organista drove up to defendant’s parked car, the windows to which were all open. As they did so, Officer Zendejas (as he later testified) could smell the distinctive odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the car. Officer Zendejas contacted defendant, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. As he did so, he recognized the right seat passenger and another male lying down in the back seat (as if hiding) to be gang members, both of whom the officer knew to be under the age of 21. Defendant also admitted that he too was only 20 years of age. When asked if he was smoking marijuana, defendant admitted that he had been, but claimed that it was two hour earlier.
The officers suspecting that defendant wasn’t being entirely truthful (shock!), everyone was asked to get out of the car. For officer safety purposes, defendant and his companions were handcuffed as the officers searched their vehicle. Although no marijuana was found, an operational and loaded nine-millimeter handgun with no serial number was recovered from an open duffle bag in the trunk. After a Miranda advisal, defendant admitted the gun was his. Charged in state court with carrying a loaded, unregistered handgun in a vehicle, defendant eventually (after a series of lower court rulings which eventually upheld the lawfulness of the search) pled no contest to the charge. Sentenced to two years of probation with search and seizure conditions and 120 days in jail, defendant appealed.
