VAN NUYS, CA – Judge Alicia Y. Blanco denied Deputy Public Defender Justin Kelley’s motion to suppress for a case of alleged vehicle tampering after the officer only reported smelling gasoline and saw two individuals standing next to a U-Haul and a white vehicle.
In a hearing Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Van Nuys courthouse, Officer Timothy Gordon of the Los Angeles Police Department testified that on June 10 the accused and another individual were seen standing between a white car and a U-Haul.
The officer added the area was known to be a “high-crime area,” where drug deals and similar events commonly took place.
Explaining what led up to the arrest, Officer Gordon added that once he and his partner pulled their patrol car closer to the vehicles, they both smelled a strong odor of gasoline. Seeing an open gas cover on the U-Haul, the accused was then handcuffed but not yet arrested nor read his Miranda rights.
The accused’s daughter was present at the scene, seen on the body worn footage, and is heard saying, “I just want to make sure you’re treating my father right.” She then stated that her father was drunk, to which Officer Gordon asked if he should bring him in for a DUI, and she asked, “Was he driving?”
The accused is also heard responding, saying he is homeless and walked to the scene.
Only after further investigation was the accused observed to have slick hands upon his handcuffing—believed to be gasoline by Officer Gordon—as well as rubber hosing and gas cans in the trunk of the white car, a punched ignition visible through ripped wires under the steering wheel, and broken glass where the window of a car comes up.
At this point, the officer said, the police ran the plate of the white car and determined it was stolen.
Officer Gordon and his partner then waited for their superior officer to arrive and, while doing so, Gordon is caught on his body worn footage stating that “this is a hard sell.”
When questioned about this comment by DPD Kelley, Officer Gordon explained that sometimes it is hard to piece together the evidence they have with what actually happened.
Upon redirect by Deputy City Attorney Elin Carlson where she asked if the officer was referring to the accused’s questioning after his arrest once brought back to the station and Mirandized, Gordon replied yes.
DPD Kelley also questioned when the accused was read his Miranda rights, as in accordance with Officer Gordon’s testimony and body worn footage, the accused was not Mirandized until he was brought back to the Van Nuys Police Station.
As a result, defense counsel requested that all of the accused statements after he was handcuffed and before he was Mirandized not be considered at this hearing. Judge Blanco agreed and stated that if further Miranda concerns were going to be brought that there be a Miranda hearing.
DPD Kelley also questioned Officer Gordon about the second individual that was reportedly seen by both officers, and asked what became of him. Officer Gordon replied that he was only detained and not questioned by him but that the individual spoke more with his partner, yet he was not arrested.
When referring to the gas cover of the U-Haul, in his testimony, Officer Gordon initially stated he saw the accused close the gas top of the vehicle—a leading reason for the suspicion of illegal activity, believed to be the siphoning of gas.
But, in the displayed body worn footage of the events on June 10, when Officer Gordon spoke with his superior officer who arrived later on the scene, he stated that he only saw an “open” gas top of the car.
Speaking to this contradiction, DPD Kelley argued that all Officer Gordon observed in order to stop and detain the accused was the strong odor of gasoline and an open gas cap.
Citing the Supreme Court case of the U.S. v. Cortez, DPD Kelley maintained it is necessary to have a “particularized and objective basis” for reasonable suspicion and that the defense’s central issue in this case was the lack of “reasonable suspicion in the first place,” hence the motion to suppress.
DPD Kelley stated that in this case just the odor of gasoline and open gas cap, taken into account with Officer Gordon’s “hard sell” comment, the discrepancies in the open or closed gas cover, and the lack of arrest or questioning of the other individual seen at the scene did not constitute such a basis for reasonable suspicion.
Judge Blanco denied the defense motion, citing a wet spot on the ground that officers believed to be gasoline—which was not mentioned in Officer Gordon’s testimony—in addition to the strong odor of gasoline, the high-crime area the accused was found in, and the open gas cover were enough to detain the accused and investigate further.
