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State v. Estrada11/4/2004
Appellee Francisco Estrada was charged with multiple counts of driving under the influence (DUI) of intoxicating liquor or drugs and one count of reckless manslaughter, arising out of a motor vehicle accident. The trial court granted Estrada's motion to suppress blood-alcohol-concentration (BAC) test results of a blood sample taken from him without a warrant at the hospital after the accident. The state then filed a motion to dismiss the charges, which the trial court granted. The state subsequently filed this appeal, pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-4032(6). See State v. Fimbres, 152 Ariz. 440, 733 P.2d 637 (App.1986); see also State v. Million, 120 Ariz. 10, 583 P.2d 897 (1978). We affirm.
Standard of Review
2 We review a trial court's order suppressing evidence for an abuse of discretion. State v. Rosengren, 199 Ariz. 112, 14 P.3d 303 (App.2000). We only consider the evidence presented at the suppression hearing. See State v. Weekley, 200 Ariz. 421, 27 P.3d 325 (App.2001). We view that evidence in the light most favorable to upholding the trial court's ruling. See id. "We defer to the trial court's factual findings that are supported by the record and are not clearly erroneous." Rosengren, 199 Ariz. 112, 9, 14 P.3d at 307. And, the trial court, not this court, determines the credibility of the witnesses. State v. Ossana, 199 Ariz. 459, 18 P.3d 1258 (App.2001). However, we review the trial court's legal conclusions de novo, including its resolution of the ultimate issue of whether the warrantless blood draw offended the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. Id.; State v. Flannigan, 194 Ariz. 150, 978 P.2d 127 (App.1998). We also review de novo issues of statutory interpretation. State v. Herrera, 203 Ariz. 131, 51 P.3d 353 (App.2002).
Facts
3 In February 2002, Pinal County Deputy Sheriff Hill was dispatched to the scene of a one-vehicle, rollover traffic accident. Hill found the driver, Estrada, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a man lying on the ground. That person was Estrada's friend, who had been the passenger in the vehicle and who died as a result of the accident. Hill assisted Estrada in performing CPR until medical personnel arrived and told them to stop. Hill testified that while she had been with Estrada she had not observed any signs or symptoms of alcohol consumption. At some point, however, a paramedic detected the smell of alcohol on Estrada's breath.
4 After some initial resistance, Estrada agreed to go to the hospital, and the medics put him on a gurney and placed him into the back of an ambulance. Another deputy at the scene, Nehrmeyer, smelled the odor of alcohol emanating from the back of the ambulance where Estrada was sitting. Shortly after the trip to the hospital began, Estrada apparently changed his mind about going voluntarily and became agitated and attempted to get out of the ambulance. The driver stopped and called for police assistance.
*2 5 When Nehrmeyer arrived in response to the medic's call, Estrada stated that he did not want to go to the hospital. According to Nehrmeyer, he then handcuffed and shackled Estrada to the gurney at the request of the medics because of safety concerns. After Estrada was secured to the gurney, he still expressed a desire to get out of the ambulance. The medics did not allow him to do so. Estrada eventually fell asleep and slept the rest of the way to a Tucson hospital. Nehrmeyer escorted the ambulance to the hospital. At the hospital, medical personnel drew Estrada's blood. Nehrmeyer asked for and received a sample of that blood. The state subsequently filed DUI and reckless manslaughter charges against Estrada.
Procedural History
6 Estrada moved to suppress the test results from the blood
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