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State v. Vialpando4/1/2004
In the early morning hours of July 2, 2000, Trooper Jeffery Plank of the Utah Highway Patrol was patrolling the west side of Salt Lake County. As he drove northbound on 3200 West, the trooper noticed two people involved in a confrontation. A man, whom the trooper eventually identified as Vialpando, was chasing a woman across 3200 West and down the street. The trooper heard shouting from one or both of them. It was obvious to the trooper that the woman was not being playful, but was in fact fleeing from Vialpando. Suspecting possible violence, the trooper activated his overhead lights, sounded his siren, and looked for the closest opportunity to turn around. Soon thereafter, Vialpando abandoned the chase and crossed the street. The woman then left the scene. After crossing the street, Vialpando walked into a nearby parking lot where he got into a parked car. After observing what had occurred, the trooper pulled directly behind Vialpando's car. The trooper then approached Vialpando to ask about the confrontation.
**3 As he approached Vialpando's car, the trooper noted that Vialpando was seated in the driver seat, the keys were in the ignition, the headlights were on, and Vialpando's seatbelt was secured. He then proceeded to question Vialpando. However, before Vialpando answered any of the trooper's questions, the trooper noticed that Vialpando's eyes were bloodshot and that he smelled strongly of alcohol. As Vialpando attempted to answer the trooper's questions, the trooper noticed that Vialpando's speech was slurred.
**4 Consequently, the trooper asked Vialpando to get out of the vehicle and to submit to a few, routine field sobriety tests. Vialpando complied. In the trooper's opinion, Vialpando failed each test. The trooper therefore arrested Vialpando for driving under the influence of alcohol, handcuffed him, and read him his Miranda rights. He also asked whether Vialpando would submit to an intoxilyzer test. [FN1] Vialpando consented. The trooper placed him in the patrol car's front seat and proceeded to drive to the Sorenson Center--one of the central testing points within Salt Lake County. During the drive, sometime before 1:45 a.m., Vialpando told the trooper that he needed to vomit. The trooper stopped the car, opened the passenger side door, and allowed Vialpando to vomit outside. At 1:45 a.m., after Vialpando had finished vomiting, and after the trooper had *212 ensured that his mouth and throat were clear of foreign matter, the trooper continued toward the Sorenson Center.
FN1. Vialpando was also charged with possession of an open container in a vehicle, in violation of Utah Code Annotated section 41-6-44.20 (1998); however, for reasons unclear from the record, he was not tried on this charge.
**5 The trooper arrived at the Sorenson Center a few minutes before two o'clock in the morning, sat Vialpando down, and prepared the intoxylyzer machine for Vialpando's test. After running the tests required to ensure that the machine was operating properly, the trooper tested Vialpando. According to the machine printout, Vialpando breathed into the machine at 2:00 a.m. and his blood alcohol volume was .175--well above the legal limit in Utah.
**6 Vialpando was subsequently tried and convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, and sentenced to 180 days in jail, which was suspended, twelve months of probation, and a $1,300.00 fine. He now appeals.
ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
**7 Vialpando presents three arguments on appeal. He first argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence of his intoxication because the trooper lacked the requisite reasonable articulable suspicion necessary to initially detain him. "In reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress e
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