Searches of Vehicles for Marijuana & Persons under the age of 21 may not legally possess marijuana.

• Probable Cause Searches of Automobiles
• The Automobile Exception to the Search Warrant Requirement
• The Odor of Marijuana and Searches of Vehicles

A strong odor of burnt marijuana emanating from inside a motor vehicle provides probable cause to search that vehicle under the “automobile exception.”  The fact that the occupants of the car were under the age of 21 insures the legality of a search of the vehicle for the source of the marijuana odor.

Twenty-year-old defendant Phillip Castro and two of his gangster companions were enjoying the pleasures of toking on some very potent weed while sitting in Castro’s car on the evening of June 22, 2020.  Unfortunately for them, 9½-year LAPD veteran Officer Miguel Zendejas (assigned to the Foothill Gang Enforcement Detail) happened to drive by just as the party was reaching it height.  Officer Zendejas’ partner, Officer Organista, ran the registration on the vehicle’s license plate, showing it to be expired.  Intending to inquire as to the expired registration, Officers Zendejas and Organista drove up to defendant’s parked car, the windows to which were all open.  As they did so, Officer Zendejas (as he later testified) could smell the distinctive odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the car.  ....