“THE car was legally and safely parked on private property. It was not impeding traffic, nor was it creating a risk to public safety,” Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert said in a motion to suppress she filed in her client’s case.
Dennert represents Kelvin Cabrera Sanchez, 36, who was charged with illegal possession of a controlled substance.
According to Dennert, the Department of Public Safety violated her client’s constitutional rights when they towed the vehicle, which he occupied some time prior to his arrest.
Police said that while they were trying to apprehend Michael Olaitiman on July 10, pursuant to an issued arrest warrant, detectives received information from a witness who saw Olaitiman inside a vehicle parked in the Saipan Vegas parking lot.
Olaitiman was accused of assaulting his partner and threatening to kill her and her children. He was charged with assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, child abuse, disturbing the peace, and domestic violence.
The police executed the arrest warrant on Olaitiman while he was seated in the front passenger seat of a black Toyota Hilux operated by Sanchez.
Detective Melvin Cadiang said he had dealt with Sanchez from previous cases and knew that he was under release conditions.
Detective Britton Cruz placed Sanchez under arrest for contempt, in violation of his bail conditions. Sanchez was supposed to be on house arrest and must always be in the company of his third-party custodian.
The Toyota Hilux truck was towed to the DPS impound where an inventory of the vehicle’s contents was conducted.
Dennert, in her motion, requested the court to hold a hearing and “to suppress any and all evidence obtained as a result of an unconstitutional search and seizure.”
She noted that her client “was allegedly sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked at Saipan Vegas sometime prior to his arrest.”
“No one witnessed defendant driving or operating the car,” she said. “Defendant got down from the vehicle on his own accord before officers decided to place him under formal arrest. Defendant was standing near police officers for some unknown time prior to his arrest. Defendant was arrested on suspicion of contempt of court for violating his conditions of bail in a separate, unrelated case. Per police reports, the vehicle was towed because it ‘wasn’t registered or insured and Sanchez wasn’t the registered owner. Therefore, it was towed to the Department of Public Safety’s impound lot.’ After impoundment, DPS conducted a K-9 sweep of the vehicle before the search. Officers found suspected narcotics inside of a black bag that was found inside the vehicle,” Dennert added.
“No one witnessed defendant driving or operating the vehicle prior to his arrest — he was merely sitting in the driver’s seat,” Dennert said. “The vehicle was not in motion so no violation of [the Vehicle Code] had occurred and no traffic citations were issued. It was not searched incident to arrest because the vehicle was not being operated and defendant was not near the vehicle when it was searched at [the] DPS impound lot. Nothing in the police reports indicates that the vehicle was dangerous to health or safety, it was simply unregistered and uninsured.”
Dennert said the “vehicle in question was on private property, the private property owner was not consulted regarding the vehicle, there were alternatives to impoundment, such as contacting the last known owner, the vehicle was not implicated in a crime, and no one gave permission to tow the vehicle. The car was legally and safely parked on private property. It was not impeding traffic, nor was it creating a risk to public safety. DPS violated defendant’s constitutional rights when they towed the vehicle he occupied some time prior to his arrest.”
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho granted Dennert’s request for a hearing and scheduled it for Nov. 13 at 10 a.m.
