Opinion ID: 2454018
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Millan

Text: ¶ 2 Shortly before 1:00 am on April 1, 2007, police received a report of a disturbance in Tacoma. Officers Christopher Shipp and Timothy Caber responded, contacted the reporting parties, and located the vehicle that was the source of the disturbance. The officers pulled up behind the vehicle and activated the police car's lights. ¶ 3 Once the vehicle was stopped, Officers Shipp and Caber approached it; Officer Caber approached the driver, Millan, and Officer Shipp approached the passenger, Millan's wife. Officer Shipp reported that the passenger appeared to be very upset, had been crying, and appeared fearful. Millan 2 Verbatim Tr. of Proceedings at 65. Officer Caber, meanwhile, asked Millan to step out of the vehicle and then placed him in wrist restraints. Because Millan repeatedly called out his wife's name and gave her what Officer Caber described as pretty hard and intimidating looks, Officer Caber placed Millan in the backseat of the police car. Id. at 106. ¶ 4 While Millan was under arrest and located in the backseat of the police car, Officer Caber conducted a search of the vehicle incident to the arrest. On the floor of Millan's car, between the driver's seat and the driver's side backseat, Officer Caber located a handgun. ¶ 5 As a result of the stop and the search, Millan was charged with driving with a suspended license in the first degree and, because he had previously been convicted of a felony, unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. Millan pleaded guilty of driving with a suspended license but proceeded to a jury trial on the unlawful possession of a firearm charge. At no time did Millan object to the admission of the firearm found in his vehicle; his motion in limine made no reference to the firearm nor did he object to its discussion at trial or its admission into evidence. Millan was subsequently convicted and, on December 7, 2007, sentenced to 42 months in prison. ¶ 6 Millan appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeals, arguing that the trial court should have granted his motion for a new trial based on jury misconduct. He submitted his brief on October 7, 2008. While his appeal was pending, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Gant on April 21, 2009. On May 7, 2009, Millan filed a supplemental brief with the Court of Appeals arguing that the court must reverse his conviction because the vehicle search incident to arrest was unconstitutional under Gant. The Court of Appeals agreed that Gant applied to Millan 's case, Millan, 151 Wash. App. at 496, 212 P.3d 603, but held that Millan waived any error by failing to object to the admission of the evidence at trial, id. at 499-500, 212 P.3d 603.