Informal Knowledge of Man on Parole for GPS Tracker?
As a criminal defense attorney, there are some where the facts are so bad that one can see how an appeal on a legitimate legal issue will be treated differently than if the facts were significantly better. It is a reality most appellate courts would reluctantly agree is true.
The following multiple residential burglary case involving Keandre Kelvon Session out of Orange County epitomizes this situation.
In November 2019, Brice H., who lived in Manhattan Beach, returned home to find his master bedroom’s closet in disarray and several items missing, including two Rolex watches. Upon watching footage from his home security system, he saw a white Audi he did not recognize back into his driveway and two people exit the car.
There were five more residential burglaries over the next month, including in Redlands, Yorba Linda, Fullerton (twice) and Corona.
Then on December 20, an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over a white BMW in Yorba Linda. The location was just 100 yards from the Yorba Linda burglary about a month earlier. Mr. Keandre Kelvon Session was driving the car with three passengers, including his girlfriend and another person implicated in the burglaries.
During the stop, Mr. Session stated he was on parole.
Robert Miranda of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, who had been investigating the burglaries since November 21, arrived on scene after the initial traffic stop. He was aware that the license plate on the BMV was considered a suspect in several of the burglaries. Based on this information and other leads, Miranda knew Mr. Session and his passenger were suspects in the string of burglaries. Miranda knew Session was on parole. He then placed a GPS tracking device on the vehicle before allowing Session and his passengers to leave.
After the stop, Miranda prepared a search warrant, which was approved later in the day.
The same day, Emma E., who lived in Poway, returned home with her husband to find their home had been burglarized and designer purses and shoes were missing.
Around 7:30 p.m. that evening, a deputy sheriff patrolling in Poway was asked to contact a white BMV. He spotted the vehicle and began to make a traffic stop, but the vehicle sped away. The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed and then several individuals ran away on foot. However, one individual was caught and that was Mr. Session.
In the white BMV, police found a Gucci purse and a phone with pictures of defendant posing with designer watches and text message referencing the letters PJ, which police explained was related to the PJ Watts Crips criminal street gang. Investigators then used cell phone data from the phone to pinpoint the phone at several burglary locations, including Manhattan Beach, Redlands, Fullerton, Corona and Yorba Linda.
During trial, the prosecution was able to show how Mr. Session also used a white Audi registered to his girlfriend.
Mr. Session was charged with and convicted in Orange County Superior Court of five residential burglaries, four counts of misdemeanor petty theft and street terrorism pursuant to Penal Code § 186.22(a). It was further alleged that in one of the burglaries, one of the homeowners was present in the home at the time. It was also alleged that all the burglaries were committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang and that Mr. Session has two or more prior serious or violent felony convictions.
Judge Michael Cassidy in Orange County presided over the trial. The jury found Mr. Session guilty as charged. Judge Cassidy struck one of the prior strikes in sentencing, but the sentence was still 21 years and four months.
Mr. Session appealed on many grounds, but this article will just focus on his argument that placement of the GPS device on his car was illegal because Officer Miranda did not know specifically that he was on parole or when his parole ended.
The Fourth Appellate District denied this appeal. The appellate court reminded the reader, in its published opinion, that in California, parolees may validly consent in advance to warrantless searches for the opportunity to avoid prison or obtain release from custody. People v. Woods (1999) 21 Cal. 4th 668, 674. Every inmate eligible for release on parole is subject, by statute, “to search or seizure . . . at any time.” Penal Code § 3067(b)(3). Parolees are given notice of this requirement upon release.
The California Supreme Court has repeatedly said such searches are lawful as long as: 1) the parolee’s status must be known to the officer; and 2) the search may not be “arbitrary, capricious or harassing.” People v. Schmitz (2012) 55 Cal. 4th 909, 916.
Session claimed that Miranda’s knowledge of his parole status was “vague and uncorroborated.” Yet this was not corroborated in trial. When asked under oath if he knew Session was on parole before placing the GPS tracker on his car, Miranda answered “Yes.” On cross-examination, Miranda stated he did not know how he came to know Session was on parole.
The Fourth Appellate District then ruled that the source of the officer’s knowledge need not be articulated to be sufficient.
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