 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Worwood12/15/2005
For Official Publication
Before Judges Davis, McHugh, and Thorne.
Mitchell Worwood appeals the district court's ruling denying his motion to suppress evidence taken during sobriety tests. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
On June 20, 2003, Korey Wright, an off-duty Utah Highway Patrol trooper, and his friend, Skyler Fautin, were driving Wright's pickup truck and horse trailer on a dirt road out of Deep Canyon in Juab County when they encountered a white pickup truck parked in the middle of the road. At the time, Worwood, the driver of the truck, had exited the vehicle, but soon reentered and drove it to the side of the road to allow Trooper Wright and his truck to pass. Trooper Wright noticed a large wet spot in the road, a beer can, and later an ice cooler that apparently had been recently emptied.
Trooper Wright pulled his vehicle alongside Worwood's to speak to him. During the conversation, Trooper Wright noted that Worwood, who was sitting in the driver's seat, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Trooper Wright exited his vehicle to continue the conversation and testified that he smelled alcohol on Worwood's breath. All of these signs led Trooper Wright to believe that Worwood was likely intoxicated and could not safely operate a vehicle. Trooper Wright told Worwood that he would not allow him to drive until he had been checked out by a police officer. Worwood appeared to recognize that Trooper Wright was a law enforcement officer and complied with the request. Because Trooper Wright did not have a telephone or other means of communication, he instructed Fautin to drive Worwood's vehicle to a nearby dairy and call for an officer to respond at Trooper Wright's house. Trooper Wright then asked Worwood to accompany him there, to which Worwood agreed, and Trooper Wright drove him approximately a mile and a half to his house. There, they met an on-duty trooper who performed a field sobriety test, determined there was probable cause to arrest, and transported Worwood to the Juab County Jail where further tests revealed a breath alcohol concentration of .248.
Before trial, Worwood moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the sobriety test, claiming it was obtained by means of an illegal seizure. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and found that Trooper Wright had noticed signs of intoxication early in the encounter, including bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and " fter talking with Mr. Worwood at a closer proximity, Trooper Wright also smelled the odor of alcohol." The trial court also found that testing Worwood at another location was necessary because "it was more fair to the defendant to conduct the field sobriety test in a location that would allow the officer to obtain accurate test results." The trial court denied the motion, concluding that under these circumstances Trooper Wright had a reasonable suspicion to execute a level-two investigatory detention and that driving Worwood to Trooper Wright's house was a reasonable extension of that detention. We agree and affirm.
ISSUES AND STANDARD OF REVIEW
On appeal, Worwood claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because (1) Trooper Wright did not have a reasonable suspicion sufficient to effect an investigatory detention and (2) when Trooper Wright drove him to Trooper Wright's house to perform the field sobriety test, the encounter became a de facto arrest for which there was no probable cause. We review the trial court's legal basis for denying Worwood's motion for correctness without deference to the trial court's application of the law to the facts. See State v. Brake, 2004 UT 95, , 103 P.3d 699.
Page 1 2 3 4 Utah DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|