Preview:

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Docket No. 38047 STATE OF IDAHO, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. CHRISTOPHER HOMER RANDLE, Defendant-Appellant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

2012 Opinion No. 6 Filed: February 6, 2012 Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk

Appeal from the District Court of the First Judicial District, State of Idaho, Kootenai County. Hon. John P. Luster, District Judge. Judgment of conviction for felony driving under the influence, affirmed. Sara B. Thomas, State Appellate Public Defender; Shawn F. Wilkerson, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant. Shawn F. Wilkerson argued. Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Nicole L. Schafer, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Nicole L. Schafer argued. ________________________________________________ MELANSON, Judge Christopher Homer Randle appeals from his judgment of conviction for felony driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Specifically, Randle challenges the district court's order denying his motion to suppress evidence. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE At approximately 11:30 in the evening on January 4, 2010, an officer noticed Randle's vehicle alone in a parking lot with its front-end abutting a grassy knoll. The officer parked his patrol car approximately two car lengths behind Randle. The officer left his headlights on and approached the driver's side of Randle's vehicle. As he approached, the officer noticed that the engine of Randle's vehicle was running. The officer knocked on Randle's window and Randle opened his door. When Randle opened his door, the officer noticed two open beer cans located in a cup holder between the passenger and driver seats. The beer can mouths were pointed in the

1

direction of the driver and the passenger, respectively. In response to the officer's question, the passenger in Randle's vehicle claimed that both beers were hers. The officer then asked Randle for his driver's license. The officer noticed that Randle struggled to get his driver's license out of his wallet and that Randle's eyes were glassy and bloodshot. The officer detected an odor of alcohol on Randle's breath. The officer asked Randle to step out of the vehicle and inquired again about the open beer cans. Randle initially claimed that he had not been drinking and that both beers belonged to his passenger. However, when the officer confronted Randle about the way the mouths of the beer cans were pointed, Randle admitted that one of the beers was his and that he had been drinking that evening. The officer conducted field sobriety tests, which Randle failed. Randle was charged with felony DUI. I.C.

Download 38047.pdf

Idaho Law