Filed 8/28/20 P. v. Lopez CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, D075604 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Super. Ct. No. SCS294826) RAYMUNDO LOPEZ, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Ana España, Theodore M. Weathers, and Patricia Garcia, Judges. Affirmed. Robert F. Somers, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Meredith S. White and Robin Urbanski, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Members of a Border Patrol task force surveilled defendant Raymundo Lopez after he crossed into the United States from Mexico in his SUV in the middle of the night. After seeing Lopez make several “countersurveillance” driving maneuvers, and fearing he was about to return to Mexico to avoid being detained, the agents initiated a traffic stop. Lopez consented to a canine sniff and a search of his vehicle. After the canine alerted to the driver’s front wheel well area, an agent examined the area and observed that drain holes in the vehicle’s undercarriage had been covered, and there were other fresh tool markings suggesting the presence of a hidden compartment. The agent drilled into the suspected compartment and observed a white powdery substance on his drill bit when he withdrew it. A subsequent, more elaborate search of Lopez’s vehicle revealed 15 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the hidden compartment. A jury found Lopez guilty of transportation of cocaine for sale and possession of cocaine for sale, and found true as to both counts that the amount of cocaine exceeded 10 kilograms. The trial court imposed a 13-year split sentence and ordered Lopez to pay assessments, fees, and fines totaling about $5,000. Lopez raises several challenges on appeal. First, he contends the trial court erred by denying his suppression motion. He maintains the agents lacked reasonable suspicion to initiate the traffic stop in the first instance, and then exceeded the scope of his consent to search by drilling into his vehicle without a warrant. Second, he contends the trial court erred by denying his motion for mistrial after an agent testified on cross-examination that one of the reasons he initially detained Lopez was that Lopez’s vehicle, or a similar type of vehicle, had been involved in a prior drug bust. Alternatively, Lopez contends his counsel performed ineffectively by eliciting 2 this testimony from the agent. Finally, Lopez contends the trial court erred by imposing monetary assessments he will not be able to pay because he will likely be deported to Mexico when he is released from custody. For reasons we ...
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