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State v. Caudillo11/6/2002
Defendant Michael Caudillo appeals from his judgment and sentence for driving while intoxicated (DWI), fourth offense. His appeal presents this Court with another opportunity to discuss the evidence necessary to support a DWI verdict, when there is no direct observation of impaired driving. We also discuss Defendant's request for a mistrial when evidence of prior convictions was injected into the case. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
State Police Officers Joseph Gutierrez and Ernest Garcia were dispatched to a single-vehicle rollover accident on July 12, 1999, in Lea County on the highway between Hobbs and Lovington. When they arrived, Hobbs Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel were already on the scene. The EMS personnel were in the process of extricating the driver from the vehicle. Defendant was identified as the driver of the vehicle. Officer Gutierrez testified that he approached the driver's side of the vehicle and noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and from Defendant. Officer Gutierrez also testified that while the EMS personnel were working on Defendant, Defendant's answers to their questions were slurred, and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. Because of Defendant's injuries, the officers were not able to perform any field sobriety tests on Defendant.
Defendant was placed in a neck collar and transported on a full body board to the regional hospital where he was interviewed by Officer Garcia. During the interview, Officer Garcia observed that Defendant had a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. Defendant admitted to drinking a few beers, "but not too much." Officer Garcia arrested Defendant for DWI. He read Defendant the New Mexico Implied Consent Act and advised him that he could be tested for blood alcohol level and the consequences if he refused. Defendant refused to be tested.
After Defendant and his passenger were transported to the hospital, Officer Gutierrez performed an inventory of the vehicle. He noticed two beer cans next to the driver's seat, one unopened and the other opened with a quarter of the contents still in the can. He saw four more unopened beer cans, two outside the driver's side of the vehicle and two behind the passenger's seat. There was an empty beer carton in the back seat.
Officer Gutierrez determined that the accident was caused by a front tire blowout that made the vehicle veer off the roadway. Officer Gutierrez testified that the vehicle was traveling above the posted speed limit. He further stated that, in his opinion, alcohol played a part in the accident because if Defendant had not been impaired, Defendant might have been able to control the vehicle better when the tire exploded.
DISCUSSION
Verdict Supported by Substantial Evidence
The State was required to prove that Defendant was driving while "under the influence of intoxicating liquor." NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102(A) (2002). A person is under the influence of intoxicating liquor if "as a result of drinking liquor the [driver] was less able to the slightest degree, either mentally or physically, or both, to exercise the clear judgment and steady hand necessary to handle a vehicle with safety to the [driver] and the public." UJI 14-4501 NMRA 2002; accord State v. Sanchez, 2001-NMCA-109, 6, 131 N.M. 355, 36 P.3d 446.
Defendant argues that the State failed to show any direct evidence of impaired driving and, therefore, the verdict is unsupported by sufficient evidence. In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we determine whether there is substantial evidence of either a direct or circumstantial nature to support a verdict of guilty bey
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