- Ref # CAB00116
- February 15, 2022
A Search Warrant is Required for Seizure of a Vehicle Parked on a Third Party's Private Property (Peo. v. Rorabaugh (January 2022) 3DCA, #C090482, 2022 Cal. App. Lexis 60).
CASE LAW ALERT by Ray Hill, Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College
Ray Hill is a retired Police Lieutenant and Professor Emeritus at Santa Rosa Junior College. He has taught in the POST Basic Academy and Advanced Officer Training for 45 years.
A SEARCH WARRANT IS REQUIRED FOR SEIZURE OF A VEHICLE PARKED ON A THIRD PARTY’S PRIVATE PROPERTY (Peo. v. Rorabaugh (January 2022) 3DCA, #C090482, 2022 Cal. App. Lexis 60).
The victim’s beaten and strangled body was found floating in an irrigation canal in San Joaquin County. A co-defendant told officers he saw the defendant (6’2” – 280 pounds) on the top of the victim repeatedly punching him in the face. They both loaded the victim into the trunk of the defendant’s 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass and dumped the incapacitated victim, moaning and bloody, into the canal.
Officers obtained search warrants for the defendant’s residence and vehicle. When serving the warrant at the defendant’s residence, his father told officers that the defendant’s Cutlass was parked on an adjacent ranch owned by third party. Officers went to the ranch which was accessed by a ¾ mile, private driveway. Officers entered through the open gate and observed the vehicle 200 yards from the main residence. They secured the Cutlass and towed it to headquarters. A search warrant was obtained and the vehicle was searched. Bloodstains matching the victim’s DNA profile were found in the trunk and defendant’s DNA profile was found on the steering wheel.
Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence in San Joaquin County Superior Court. The trial magistrate found the seizure of the vehicle was “squarely within the Auto Exception”. The case went to trial and a jury convicted the defendant of Murder 1st.
On appeal, the 3DCA ruled a search warrant was necessary for the seizure of the vehicle for the following reasons:
1) Police did not have the lawful right to access an unattended vehicle on private property .... © 2026 Legal Updates, LLC.
This content is protected by copyright law. Republishing or redistribution in any form without written permission is strictly prohibited. For licensing or reprint requests, contact support@legalupdates.com.
