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People v. Kraft8/10/2000
r. A portion of the passenger's buttocks was visible, his jeans having been pulled very low. As Sterling was putting defendant into the patrol car, Howard tried to rouse the passenger by shouting and knocking on the window. The passenger did not respond. Howard went around to the unlocked driver's door and opened it. He observed a brown pill vial labeled "Ativan" between the driver's seat and the door sill, removed it and placed it on the roof of the car. He also removed a folded buck knife from the driver's seat and placed it, likewise, on the roof of the car. Using his flashlight, Howard observed in the back seat a cooler, another pill vial and a leather belt or strap. He tried again to awaken the passenger by shaking his shoulder through his shirt and shouting at him, without receiving a response. Howard went around to the passenger's side and unlocked the door for easier access. Howard again shook him and shouted at him, then checked for vital signs. He detected neither pulse nor respiration, and the pupils did not respond to light.
Citing the fact his driving had improved immediately after the Highway Patrol officers activated their red light, defendant argues his arrest for driving under the influence was improper because he was not intoxicated, but merely distracted. He notes his own fly was undone when he was stopped and that Gambrel's genitals were exposed, suggesting masturbation was the reason for his erratic driving. As the Attorney General points out, however, the arresting officers did not discover the condition of Gambrel's body until after defendant was in custody; thus, contrary to defendant's argument, "other reasons" (besides intoxication) for defendant's poor driving were not "immediately apparent." Defendant further contends his performance on the field sobriety tests did not support the conclusion he was under the influence of alcohol, but the opinion of Officer Sterling and Sergeant Howard was to the contrary. We see no evidence in the record that the officers unduly prolonged defendant's detention. Cases cited by defendant, such as People v. McGaughran (1979) 25 Cal.3d 577, Williams v. Superior Court (1985) 168 Cal.App.3d 349, and People v. Lingo (1970) 3 Cal.App.3d 661, in which courts invalidated arrests made after unduly prolonged detentions, are therefore inapposite. Consequently, the trial court, based on the circumstances as a whole, properly could find the officers had probable cause to arrest defendant for driving under the influence. It follows that we must reject defendant's derivative contention, based on the doctrine of the fruit of the poisonous tree (see generally Wong Sun v. United States (1963) 371 U.S. 471, 484-488), that the seizure of his car and its subsequent search violated his Fourth Amendment rights.
Defendant complains further that Sergeant Howard's seizure of the buck knife and Ativan from defendant's car was improper because, at the time of seizure, probable cause to believe defendant had committed murder was lacking. Defendant notes Howard testified he did not know what Ativan was. We conclude, however, that Howard properly could seize the vial of Ativan because, as he testified at the hearing on the suppression motion, he suspected defendant may have been under the influence of both alcohol and drugs. And the seizure of the knife clearly was proper so that defendant's passenger would not be able to reach it and thereby jeopardize the officers' safety. In any case, the Ativan and knife inevitably would have been discovered once defendant was taken into custody, as the officers would have checked on the passenger to ensure his safety in leaving the scene of the arrest. Their seizure by Sergeant Howard therefore was proper. (Nix v. Williams (1984) 467
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