California v. Cervantes
Annotate this CasePolice validly stopped defendant Jaime Cervantes for driving with expired vehicle registration. They searched his vehicle after they learned that the adult female riding in the front passenger seat had provided them with a false identity and was subject to a felony warrant and probation search condition. Police initially discovered large quantities of illegal drugs and paraphernalia in a closed toiletries bag and an opaque plastic drawstring bag in the backseat behind the driver. They continued their search and found more methamphetamine in the front center console. They arrested defendant, who admitted to transporting drugs for sale. Defendant moved to suppress the seized drugs and a subsequent confession because the probationer on whom the police justified their search was female, the closed bags in the backseat contained male toiletries and clothing. On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred by denying his suppression motion. The prevailing California case law upheld searches of personal items in the backseat of a car based on a front seat passenger’s status as parolee, and applied here to justify the search of defendant’s car based on his passenger’s status as a probationer. The Court of Appeal concluded the discovery of illegal drugs would have inevitably led to the discovery of drugs in the backseat and in the bags containing his clothing and toiletries. Thus, the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s suppression motion.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.