Police conduct a pat-down search of Freddy Espino. They feel something in his pocket. They think it might be crack cocaine.
Turns out it's not crack cocaine. What is it, then?
No, not that.
It's a . . . diamond. Which they discover after handcuffing the dude and pulling the thing out.
Not what the police were expecting, I'm sure.
Unfortunately for Mr. Espino, after the police pulled out the diamond, after "some hesitation," he also gave consent for the police to search his car. There, the police officers discovered something that they're far more used to seeing.
Methamphetamine.
Fortunately for Mr. Espino, however, the Court of Appeal holds that the officers did not have probable cause to keep him under arrest when they requested his consent (post-diamond) to search his vehicle.
Conviction reversed.
Presumably he gets back the diamond too.
