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Charles v. State3/17/2004
NOTICE Memorandum decisions of this court do not create legal precedent. See Alaska Appellate Rule 214(d) and Paragraph 7 of the Guidelines for Publication of Court of Appeals Decisions (Court of Appeals Order No. 3). Accordingly, this memorandum decision may not be cited as binding precedent for any proposition of law.
No. 4840
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
Stephen W. Charles was convicted of driving under the influence . Before trial, he moved to suppress his statements to the police, claiming that the police had violated his Miranda rights. He also sought to suppress evidence - his vehicle keys - that the police had found during a search of his gym bag. District Court Judge Mark I. Wood partially granted the suppression motion based on Miranda. But Judge Wood refused to suppress Charles's statements that he had recently been drinking and driving, because he found that Charles had made these statements before he was in custody for Miranda purposes. Judge Wood also refused to suppress the vehicle keys because he found that Charles had consented to the search of his gym bag. For the reasons set forth below, we agree that Charles was not in Miranda custody when he admitted that he had been drinking and driving, and that Charles consented to the search of his gym bag. Accordingly, we affirm the decisions of the district court.
Facts and Proceedings
On September 11, 2001, two University of Alaska, Fairbanks police officers - Officer Mark W. Poeschel and Officer Stephen F. Goetz - responded to a report that an intoxicated person was in the sauna at the university gym. The officers responded because university policy excludes intoxicated people from university buildings. In addition, an intoxicated person in the sauna is a safety issue for the intoxicated person and a civil liability issue for the university.
The officers found Charles in the sauna in the university gym. He was naked and obviously intoxicated. Officer Poeschel said to Charles, "How are you doing guy, come out and talk to me." Charles came out of the sauna. The officers asked him his name, which he provided, and then asked if he had any identification in his locker. Charles began looking for his locker, but had trouble finding it. One of the officers stayed within "two to three steps" of Charles as he looked for his locker. As he wandered through the locker room, the police asked Charles several questions.
In response to those questions, Charles told the police that he had recently consumed four beers at the Pub bar. He also said that he had taken a public bus from the bar to the campus gym, and that he planned to take a taxi home. The police pointed out that the bus system did not provide service to the gym, and asked Charles if he had driven from the bar. He said he had not.
When Charles located his locker, he allowed the police to pat down his clothing and to search his gym bag for weapons. Although Charles had located his locker and was putting on his clothes, he had not yet shown the police any identification. When asked if he had a wallet in his pants, Charles answered that his wallet was in his truck, and that his truck was in the parking lot. One of the officers said they would have to go out and get Charles's identification card.
As Charles continued dressing, he answered more questions. He told the officers that he had been at the gym for approximately half an hour; later, he told the officers he had driven from the Pub "about a half hour ago." He said that he had driven from the Pub to the gym and he provided a general description of the route he had taken. When he finished dressing, Charles and the police left the gym to
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