People v. Wallace
Annotate this CaseFairfield police officers found a baton in defendant’s vehicle after defendant was stopped for a traffic violation and then arrested at the scene as a suspect in a domestic violence incident. Defendant was charged with possession of a baton or similar weapon, Penal Code section 22210. The trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence relating to the baton on the ground that it was obtained during an inventory search of his vehicle. The court of appeal reversed, noting that the state did not defend the search as a valid inventory search or otherwise contend it was constitutionally permissible but claimed that the police inevitably would have discovered the baton in the course of impounding the vehicle and taking an inventory of its contents. The court concluded there was no substantial evidence either that the evidence was obtained as the result of a valid inventory search, since the officers did not follow procedures or that the baton inevitably would have been discovered.
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