Wednesday, March 25, 2026

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Positions of Driver, Passenger Sparked Reasonable Suspicion of Crime—C.A.

By a MetNews Staff Writer

The sight of a man seated in the driver’s seat of a stationary car with someone in the backseat, with no indication that the vehicle was a taxi or the like, coupled with it being at night in a high-crime area, provided police officers with ample cause to effect a detention based on a suspicion that a drug transaction was in progress, Div. One of the Court of Appeal for this district has held.

Justice Gregory J. Weingart authored the unpublished opinion, filed Monday. It affirms the conviction of Michael Miranda for carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, to which he pled no contest after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba denied his suppression motion.

The gun was found after LAPD Officer Andres Martinez made an investigative stop; his partner spotted, in plain view, a baggie with a crystal-like substance in it; the occupants were ordered to exit the vehicle; and a search was conducted.

Officer’s Testimony

Martinez testified that the area he was patrolling was “known for drug transactions” and the positioning of the occupants was “indicative of a drug transaction,” explaining:

“Typically, drug dealers, what they do is they like to control their product and their money…up front with them. It also prevents robberies from happening. So they can easily stay in the vehicle, operate the vehicle, take off if they need to. And that way they have their buyer in the back, and the buyer doesn’t have access to the rest of the supply”

The appellant argued that Martinez lacked an objective basis for believing a crime was in progress and a detention was therefore not justified. Weingart responded:

“What Martinez described was not a hunch, but rather an objective basis for suspicion tethered to his training and experience that the trial court could evaluate.”

Not Sole Factor

He said the officer did not act solely on the basis of the vehicle being in a high-crime area, but only took it into account as one factor. He wrote:

“The lack of any ride-share insignia on the vehicle reduced the probability of the most likely innocent explanation of why Miranda’s sole passenger was sitting in the back seat. In these circumstances, the trial court did not err in concluding Martinez had reasonable suspicion to detain Miranda.”

A downward adjustment was ordered in the amount of the restitution fine.

The case is People v. Miranda, B342326.