I have a case where the defendant broke into a Walmart and stole a bunch of jewelry. That same night, down the road ,he was stopped for a broken taillight. At the time, the officer just wrote him a ticket for that and no insurance and then impounded his car.{He didn't know about the Walmart theft.} At one point, the officer did a pat down search of the defendant and found all the jewelry in his pockets. The defendant told the officer it belonged to his cousin. The officer then took the property and told him that his cousin could get it back from the police station the next day.

My question is: Can an officer do that since he didn't arrest the defendant at that time? I'm having a hard time finding case law.

Thanks in advance!

also check CCP chapter 59. This is very broad and allows officers to seize all types of contraband and proceeds from crime without arresting the suspect. It is my understanding that an officer can take almost anything as long as he reasonably believes it falls under this chapter.