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Castleberry v. State5/3/2000
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
[No. 4210 - May 3, 2000]
Appeal from the Superior Court, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Larry D. Card, Judge.
MANNHEIMER, Judge, concurring.
This appeal is a result of Castleberry's conviction of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree.
At 3:30 a.m. on December 16, 1997, Anchorage Police Officer Wendy Blackwell arrested Thomas Castleberry for driving while intoxicated. Officer Blackwell described Castleberry's condition as "strongly impaired." Officer Daniel Henegar, who assisted in the arrest, described Castleberry's coordination as "horrible." Because of this, Henegar did not administer any field balance or coordination tests, feeling it was not in "the best interests of [Castleberry's] safety." Officer Henegar took Castleberry to the police station and offered him a breath alcohol test. Castleberry spit out the mouth piece of the Intoximeter 3000 after blowing "extremely hard for about two seconds." Henegar described Castleberry's conduct as uncooperative. Officer Henegar then took Castleberry to the magistrate. The magistrate set Castleberry's bail at $1,675.00 and ordered him held until he was sober. The officer then transported Castleberry to the jail, where he turned him over to Correctional Officer James Hill, Jr.
Officer Hill described the general procedure for conducting inventory searches at the jail. He testified that once a police officer brings a prisoner into the jail, the correctional officer checks the remand slip to find out the prisoner's conditions of release. The correctional officer then conducts a thorough inventory search to make sure that the prisoner does not have weapons or contraband. If the prisoner's conditions of release are such that he may be able to post bail, he is then placed in a holding cell where he has access to a telephone and has approximately two hours to post bail. But if the prisoner is not to be released until he is sober or until he has obtained a third-party custodian, the correctional officer will inventory all of the prisoner's property, have him change into jail clothing, and book him into the jail.
Hill testified that when he conducted an inventory search of Castleberry, he found what appeared to be crack cocaine in Castleberry's watch pocket. He testified that the crack cocaine was in clear cellophane and that it was immediately apparent what it was. He then alerted the police officers, who were still in the building, to the fact that he had found drugs. Hill continued his search, and found a clear white canister in Castleberry's right front pocket. The lid on the canister was slightly opened, and Hill stated that he could see rocks of cocaine in the canister through the opening.
Hill stated that when a prisoner is held under a condition of release which requires the jail to hold the prisoner until he is sober, the correctional officer will usually administer a portable breath test to determine the prisoner's level of intoxication. Hill testified that he did not administer such a test to Castleberry because he found the cocaine during the inventory search. Hill characterized Castleberry as extremely intoxicated. On February 5, 1998, a grand jury returned a true bill charging Castleberry with misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree. That same day, the District Attorney added three counts: operating a vehicle while intoxicated; refusal to submit to chemical test; and driving while license canceled, suspended, revoked, or in violation of a limitation.
On June 4, 1998, Castleberry filed a motion to suppress the drug evidence discovered during the inventory
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