Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : State Court of Appeal Upsets Drug Conviction
A state appellate court on Monday overturned a drug conviction against an Orange County man, finding that police had improperly searched him.
The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana found that the trial court had erred in denying defendant Adam Valenzuela’s motion to suppress as evidence the drugs confiscated from him.
Valenzuela was charged with, and later pleaded guilty to, charges of possession of cocaine for sale and possession of heroin after police discovered him with narcotics on March 1, 1987.
A Garden Grove police officer stopped Valenzuela in the Buena-Clinton area, a neighborhood known for crime and narcotics, after he saw him talking with a known narcotics user and sitting in a car with an expired license plate.
The officer initially intended to cite Valenzuela for the registration violation. But after stopping him, the officer noticed two inches of a plastic bag protruding from Valenzuela’s pants pocket. The officer then conducted a pat-down search and discovered five to 10 wrapped packages of drugs.
The court found the officer unjustified in subjecting Valenzuela to a search.
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