Opinion ID: 2387024
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The apprehension of defendant and search of his vehicle

Text: Robert Jansing, a police officer with the United States Park Police in San Francisco, testified concerning his arrest of defendant on March 6, 1995. He explained that he noticed the registration tag was affixed poorly to the license plate of a vehicle in which defendant was seated, and he asked his dispatcher to investigate whether the vehicle was registered. When Jansing learned that the vehicle's registration had expired, he requested that defendant produce his vehicle registration and driver's license. After defendant failed to produce either, Jansing asked defendant to step out of the vehicle, which he did, and Jansing placed him in handcuffs. Pursuant to the arrest, Jansing searched defendant and found defendant's driver's license. Jansing informed his dispatcher that the individual's name was Stephen Redd, and learned that defendant was wanted for murder and robbery in Orange County. Jansing testified that he received permission from his supervisors to impound the vehicle, and he then conducted an inventory search. Among the items he found in the trunk of the vehicle were a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol with a laser sight attached, an AR-15 rifle with a laser sight attached, and wigs. [3] Dennis Fuller, a forensic scientist with the Orange County Sheriff's Department's crime laboratory, testified that he analyzed the six bullet casings and the two bullets recovered from the scene of the Vons market assaults, the bullet casing recovered from the Alpha Beta market, and the bullet recovered from Timothy McVeigh's body. His analysis led him to conclude that all of the bullets and casings were fired from the .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun recovered during the arrest of defendant. Fuller also testified that his testing established the weapon operated properly, would not fire when the external safety mechanism was placed in the position to prevent the weapon from firing, would not fire without someone pulling on the trigger, and did not have a hair trigger. Jerry Brakebill, an officer with the City of Brea Police Department, was the primary detective assigned to investigate the murder of Timothy McVeigh. He testified concerning the items found in defendant's vehicle at the time of the arrest. These items included: two magazines for .380-caliber ammunition;.380-caliber ammunition; two sights that matched the empty sight boxes found in defendant's apartment and that were attached, respectively, to a .380-caliber weapon and an AR-15 firearm; a blue beanie cap; a baseball cap; a purple-hooded sweater with a zipper; sunglasses, and women's wigs, two brown and one blond. [4]