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Jones v. State4/11/2000
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 06/26/1998
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. ROBERT G. EVANS
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED:SMITH COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY
TRIAL COURT 06/26/1998: MANSLAUGHTER: SENTENCED TO SERVE A DISPOSITION: TERM OF (15) YEARS IN THE MDOC.
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 4/11/2000
. Danny Jones, while driving a vehicle in Smith County, struck and killed Ondean McAlpin. After evidence was developed that Jones was under the influence of a narcotic drug at the time of the incident, he was indicted and convicted of DUI manslaughter in McAlpin's death. He has appealed that conviction to this Court, asserting two issues that he claims warrant a reversal of his conviction.
. The first issue raised by Jones is that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the results of chemical analysis of a blood sample extracted shortly after the accident. In actuality, this matter requires consideration of three separate legal issues. Jones claims that his due process rights were violated when a portion of the sample not needed for the testing was destroyed, thereby depriving him of the opportunity to have an independent chemical analysis of his blood. Secondly, he urges that the sample was drawn in a manner contrary to that dictated by the statute regarding such matters. Finally, he suggests that the State could not demonstrate the necessary chain of custody to show with sufficient certainty that the lab results introduced into evidence were derived from blood obtained from him.
. As his second issue, Jones argues that an investigating officer was permitted to offer testimony in the nature of accident reconstruction without being qualified as an expert in that field.
. We find the issues raised by Jones do not constitute reversible error. Therefore, we affirm his conviction.
I.
Facts
. Jones struck McAlpin while she was using a riding mower to cut the grass in her front yard. The State contended that Jones struck her while she was in her yard, while Jones asserted that McAlpin had unexpectedly driven into the highway right-of-way, thereby making the accident unavoidable. Jones was also injured in the accident and was taken to Magee General Hospital for treatment. Because Jones had been exhibiting signs of chemical impairment in the aftermath of the accident, officers became suspicious that he may have been under the influence of intoxicants or some narcotic substance. For that reason an intern at the hospital drew a blood sample from Jones for testing, though the intern was unable to recall at trial who had directed her to draw and retain the sample.
. The blood was tested at the State Crime Laboratory and was discovered to contain the drug Butalbital, which is a prescription medication that acts as a sedative and is a barbiturate. The crime lab, although able to detect the presence of the drug, lacked the facilities to measure the level of the dosage. As a result, the remainder of the sample was sent to a private testing facility for further analysis. An official from the private laboratory testified at trial that those additional tests revealed a dosage level of fourteen micrograms of Butalbital per milliliter of blood, which was a near-lethal amount of the drug. The State's theory was that, even though Jones had a prescription for the drug, he had purposely overmedicated himself to the extent that his ability to operate a motor vehicle was substantially impaired, thereby making him answerable criminally for McAlpin's death.
II.
Destruction of the Remainder of Blood Sample
. The private
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