People v. Zabala, 19 Cal. App. 5th 335

Deputy stopped Saul Zabala for driving with a suspended license; vehicle was impounded and an inventory search was begun.
During the inventory, deputies found four small blue baggies with a white powder under the driver’s seat; Deputy Dorsey thought packaging and appearance were consistent with narcotics but did not field-test immediately.
While inventorying the passenger-side/dashboard area, Dorsey observed the radio/dashboard console looked loose/tampered and used a pocket knife to remove the console.
Behind the console he located several bags of white crystalline methamphetamine; Dorsey was qualified at trial as an expert in recognizing drug packaging and concealment.
Trial court denied Zabala’s motion to suppress, concluding the console removal was within an inventory search; Zabala pleaded no contest and admitted priors.
On appeal the court held removal of the console exceeded an inventory search’s scope but the console search was supported by probable cause under the automobile exception; a prior 3-year narcotics enhancement was vacated due to statutory amendment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether removing the dashboard console was permissible as an inventory search	Removal was part of routine inventory to secure valuables and thus lawful	Removal exceeded inventory scope because a hidden compartment is not a place where owners keep valuables and policy did not authorize dismantling parts	Removing the console exceeded the scope of a lawful inventory search
Whether probable cause supported searching behind the console (automobile exception)	The baggies’ packaging and location plus a tampered console gave a fair probability of contraband behind the console	The baggies were untested and their contents unknown, so they could not supply probable cause	Totality (packaging, placement, tampering, officer expertise) established probable cause; search lawful under automobile exception
Whether the methamphetamine should be suppressed as fruit of unlawful search	Evidence admissible if another exception (probable cause) justified search	Evidence should be suppressed because inventory exceeded its scope	Evidence not suppressed because probable cause independently validated the console search
Whether a three-year prior-narcotics enhancement under former Health & Safety §11370.2(c) stands	Enhancement imposed at sentencing	Statute amended effective Jan 1, 2018 eliminating that enhancement	Enhancement vacated and judgment modified accordingly

South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (recognizes constitutionality of standardized inventory searches to protect vehicles and contents)
Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (inventory policies allowing opening closed containers upheld where standardized procedures exist)
Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1 (inventory searches require standardized criteria re: opening containers to prevent pretextual searches)
Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (limits search-incident-to-arrest doctrine for vehicles; acknowledges other vehicle-search exceptions)
United States v. Johns, 469 U.S. 478 (vehicle in police custody may be searched on probable cause without exigency)
United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798 (warrant-supported vehicle search may reach every part that might contain the object of the search)
United States v. Jackson, 682 F.3d 448 (inventory-style searches that inspect interior areas may be upheld under some policies)
United States v. Best, 135 F.3d 1223 (removal of door panel to seek contraband exceeded inventory scope)
United States v. Lugo, 978 F.2d 631 (search behind door panel not a standard inventory procedure and exceeded inventory purpose)
People v. Andrews, 6 Cal.App.3d 428 (articulates that inventory extends to customary storage areas but not hidden compartments)