Bennett Dean was driving his vehicle at 3 pm on June 12, 2024. He was driving in the City of Carlsbad in a generally southbound direction on Carlsbad Village Drive. The posted speed limit is 35 and the vehicle was traveling at approximately 31 to 33 mph. The vehicle had gone through local law enforcement radar settings and had been verified at between 31 and 33 mph considering all margins of error.
A motorcycle officer by the name of, Pete Moss, saw the motor vehicle go by and decided that he wanted to stop the vehicle. He followed the vehicle for one block. The vehicle speed was constant and there was no apparent attempt to flee. The vehicle was stopped, and the officer instructed the driver that he was stopping him due to the fact that he perceived that the driver had an obstruction to his vision. He said, in essence, that the vehicle seemed to have some sort of an object hanging off the front mirror which was on the windshield and that in his opinion it created an obstruction. That item which hanging from the mirror was a vehicle placard for handicapped parking. It was blue in color, and it measured approximately 2 inches by 3 inches and hanging from an elastic strap from the base of the mirror.
Once the vehicle was stopped, the officer asked the driver if he could search the vehicle. Bennett replied by asking the question why do you want to search it?
A second policeman, Officer Lou Tennant, responded that he just searched vehicles as a matter of course. As a matter of fact, he said that he had a right to search the vehicle due to officer safety. Bennett said nothing, and the officer began his search. Tennant found a gun under the front seat of the vehicle. Bennett was then arrested for the possession of a handgun and the handgun was taken by the officers. Bennett was charged for possession of a handgun and concealing the handgun in a vehicle which violated California law.
He was taken to the station. When he was taken to the station he was booked on possession of a firearm and a background check was done. The evidence that was produced showed that he had no prior violations of any type whatsoever, not even a traffic citation. Furthermore, the gun was taken to ballistics. He was released on the same day. He has two charges pending. One for possession of an unlicensed firearm and the second for concealing it in a moving vehicle. He has come to us and asked us to represent him. He wants to know if the police conduct was allowable. What are your thoughts and arguments about the search? The stop, the recovery of the gun? Please fully explain both sides of the issue.
