The defendant ran out of gas and was parked at a closed business pouring gas from a container into his vehicle. Officers across the street found these actions to be suspicious. They approached the defendant and asked for identification. The defendant entered the vehicle and grabbed his license and registration. During the conversation, the officers noticed that he had an odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. Once outside of the vehicle, the officers requested that he perform field sobriety exercises. He refused and told the officers that they did not see him driving. They informed him that he was behind the wheel while retrieving his identification and they proceeded to arrest him. At the station, the defendant refused to provide a breath sample. We filed a motion to suppress arguing that there was no reason for the officers to approach and detain the defendant and that he was never in control of the vehicle. Minutes before the motion was to be heard, the state agreed with our argument and dismissed the case.
DUI & Criminal Division
