People v. Rigsby

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People v. Rigsby

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-06-0639 Rel

Case Date: 06/24/2008

Preview:NO. 5-06-0639
N O T IC E Decision filed 06/24/08. The text of this dec ision m ay b e changed or corrected prior to the P e t i ti o n for filing of a or the

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

Re hea ring

FIFTH DISTRICT ________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) St. Clair County. ) v. ) No. 06-CF-877 ) DEAN RIGSBY, ) Honorable ) John Baricevic, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. _________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE WELCH delivered the opinion of the court: After a jury trial, the defendant, Dean Rigsby, was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or more (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1) (West 2004)). On appeal, the defendant argues that the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because the State failed to prove that the breath-analysis instrument was properly certified before and after the defendant's breath test. BACKGROUND On May 25, 2006, the defendant was arrested by Officer Robert Boehm of the Lebanon police department for driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or more. In the amended criminal information, dated July 7, 2006, the defendant was charged with aggravated driving under the influence in violation of section 11-501(a)(1) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1) (West 2004)). A jury trial was held on October 9, 2006, in which the following evidence was produced. Officer Boehm, the only witness, testified that at approximately 1:45 p.m., a motorist alerted him to a red pickup truck on the side of the road with a white male slumped over the

disposition of the same.

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steering wheel. When Boehm arrived, he found the pickup truck still running and the defendant slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious, with his foot on the brake. The officer also testified that he saw two open beer cans in the bed of the truck and one open beer can on the truck's floorboard. Boehm unsuccessfully attempted to wake the defendant and then called for an ambulance. Before the ambulance arrived, the defendant woke

momentarily, asked Boehm for a kiss, and said "Alikazam" before passing out again. The paramedics arrived, examined the defendant, and told Boehm they believed that the defendant was intoxicated and that he did not need to go to the hospital. Boehm testified he noticed that the defendant's eyes were red and glassy and that the defendant's speech was slurred and very thick-tongued. He also testified that the defendant smelled strongly of alcohol and that the defendant was unable to perform a field sobriety test because the defendant was unable to stand and maintain consciousness. Boehm assisted the defendant to the police car and transported him to the Lebanon police department. Boehm testified that on May 25, 2006, he was certified and licenced by the State of Illinois to operate the EC-IR instrument, a machine that measures a person's blood-alcohol content. He also testified that Clyde Matthews certified the machine on April 12, 2006. Boehm observed the defendant for 20 minutes and then administered a breath test to the defendant, after doing a blank check on the machine. "People's Exhibit No. 1" was the ECIR instrument printout of the defendant's breath-test results. Boehm identified the printout as being from the defendant's test, explained the blank-check reading, and testified that the printout indicated that the defendant's blood alcohol was .276, more than three times the legal limit of .08. Boehm testified that he recorded the results of the defendant's breath test in the breath-analysis instrument logbook. The defendant did not object to this testimony. On cross-examination, the defendant showed Boehm "Defendant's Exhibit No. 1," a photocopy of two pages of the breath-analysis instrument logbook, the first sheet dated

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March 9, 2006, to May 25, 2006 (first logsheet), and the second sheet dated April 19, 2006, to May 25, 2006 (second logsheet). Boehm testified that the entries are normally made in chronological order and that the defendant's test was recorded on the last line of the first logsheet. The entry above the defendant's in the logbook, also dated May 25, 2006, was by Clyde Matthews, but it was crossed out. The second logsheet had an entry on May 25, 2006, by Clyde Matthews indicating that the machine had been certified on that date, and this entry was not crossed out. Boehm testified that the time was not recorded in the logbook indicating when M atthews performed the certification check on May 25, 2006. Boehm also stated that he had brought the entire logbook with him to the trial. After the redirect examination of Boehm, the State moved to introduce "People's Exhibit No. 1," the printout showing the defendant's breath-test blood-alcohol content of .276. The court asked the defendant if there was any objection, and he said no. The court admitted the breath-test results without objection. The jury found the defendant guilty of driving under the influence. The defendant was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days credited for time served, and 2

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