The Defendant was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Controlled Substances Causing or Contributing Injuring to Person or Property. The Defendant was seen driving slowly and speeding up, not letting the victim pass him. The victim then drove around him and into a different parking lot, rounded a curve and the defendant was in the wrong lane in the parking lot. The defendant crashed his vehicle into the defendant’s vehicle according to the victim. The victim testified that the defendant got out of the car yelling and screaming and slurring his words. He seemed impaired and did not have his “wits about him”. A police officer showed up and saw that the defendant’s eyes were glassy and somewhat bloodshot. He seemed uncoordinated and his speech was slurred. He was very slow in his movements and seemed lethargic. He admitted to taking Alprazolam and handed a bottle of the pills to the officer. There were 16 pills in the bottle which had been filled the day before for 30 pills. During the walk and turn exercises, he lost his balance when he started the task, did not walk heel to toe 5 of the steps and had to be reminded what to do halfway through the task. During the one leg stand, the defendant put his foot down two times and counted to 19 and then said “30”. During the finger to nose task, the defendant held his finger on his nose for a period of about 13 seconds before the officer told him that he was supposed to return it to his side. He then missed his nose on 4 more occasions. The Defendant was arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance and was taken to the Breath Alcohol Testing Facility where he agreed to a urine test. The Defendant’s urine came back with Alprazolam and Marijuana in it. The State called a forensic toxicologist to testify who made an opinion that what she witnessed on the video was consistent with someone who would be impaired by Alprazolam and marijuana. The Defense called the defendant’s father who testified that the defendant had taken 14 pills out of his prescription bottle because he was going on a camping trip the next day for 2 weeks. Additionally, the defendant took the stand also to not only tell his side of the story, but so the jury could hear the way in which he spoke as it was similar to the way in which he sounded on the video. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty of Driving Under the Influence Causing or Contributing injury to person or property.
DUI & Criminal Division
