Billy Fernandes Ray v. Commonwealth of Virginia

Court of Appeals of Virginia·Decided April 21, 2026·No. 1815243·Unpublished

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA Record No. 1815-24-3

BILLY FERNANDES RAY

v.

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

Present: Judges Ortiz, Causey and Callins Argued at Lexington, Virginia Opinion Issued April 21, 2026*

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ALLEGHANY COUNTY Edward K. Stein, Judge

James V. Doss, III, for appellant.

Melanie D. Edge, Assistant Attorney General (Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General,1 on brief), for appellee.

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY

JUDGE DORIS HENDERSON CAUSEY

Following a bench trial, the circuit court found Billy Fernandes Ray guilty of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, third offense within ten years; driving a motor vehicle while license revoked for a prior DUI conviction and while under the influence of alcohol; and driving a motor vehicle while deprived of the right to do so for a DUI offense. Ray appealed, arguing the circuit court abused its discretion when it denied his motion to strike, as there was insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Ray actively operated his vehicle while intoxicated. We agree and reverse Ray’s convictions under Code § 18.2-266 and Code § 46.2-391(D)(2)(a).

*

This opinion is not designated for publication. See Code § 17.1-413(A).

1 Jay C. Jones succeeded Jason S. Miyares as Attorney General on January 17, 2026.

BACKGROUND

On March 14, 2024, the Clifton Falls Police Department received a call from a woman reporting that her husband had been drinking and that she was trying to stop him from leaving the residence. When an officer arrived at the house, her husband was gone. But the woman informed the officer that her husband had left in a black Nissan Maxima and may be heading to Covington.2 The officer also learned the vehicle’s registration number. The Clifton Falls Police Department then issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) for the vehicle, noting the subject might be at the Travel Lodge3 in Low Moor.

Upon receiving the BOLO, shortly before midnight, Alleghany County Deputy Sheriff William Clark went to the Travel Lodge. Fifteen minutes after he arrived, Deputy Clark found a vehicle matching the BOLO description. When Deputy Clark approached the vehicle, he found Ray as the sole occupant of the vehicle, lying in the reclined driver’s seat. The car had a simple push button start, and the engine was not running.

Deputy Clark introduced himself and told Ray that his vehicle matched the BOLO vehicle description for a suspect in a “domestic in Clifton Forge.” He then asked Ray to produce some identification. Ray had difficulty locating his documentation but eventually gave the deputy his Virginia identification card. Ray did not produce a driver’s license. In addressing his license, Ray stated that he knew he “fucked up.” Deputy Clark testified that he understood Ray to be saying that he knew that he did not have a license to drive. Ray also admitted that he “drove there” at some point that day, though he did not specify when.

2 Ray’s wife did not testify at his trial.

3 In the trial transcript, the court reporter spelled the name of the motel, Travelodge, as “Travel Lodge.” We have referenced it throughout based on its name in the transcript.

Directly behind Ray’s driver’s seat were several unopened alcoholic beverage containers.

Ray told Deputy Clark that he “had been drinking a few hours ago.” While speaking with the officer, Ray slurred his speech, and an odor of alcohol emanated from his car. Suspecting that Ray was drunk, Deputy Clark asked Ray to perform field sobriety tests. The results of these tests further indicated that Ray was under the influence of alcohol. Deputy Clark then administered a preliminary breath test (a breathalyzer), which confirmed the deputy’s suspicions that Ray was intoxicated. Throughout the encounter, Ray never stated he had been drinking while sitting in his vehicle.

Deputy Clark arrested Ray and transported him to the local jail. At the jail, Deputy Clark tried to obtain a breath sample from Ray, but he refused, stating, “I ain’t doing shit, man, just lock me in the room. I’m not doing nothing for you.” Deputy Clark then read the entire declaration and acknowledgement of refusal form to Ray; he again refused to provide a breath sample.

Based on his investigation, Deputy Clark obtained felony warrants charging Ray with DUI, third offense within ten years, in violation of Code §§ 18.2-266 and 18.2-270, and driving a motor vehicle while license revoked for a prior DUI conviction, in violation of Code § 46.2-391. Deputy Clark also obtained Class 1 misdemeanor warrants charging Ray with driving a motor vehicle while deprived of the right to do so for a DUI offense, in violation of Code § 18.2-272(A)(i), and unreasonably refusing to submit a breath sample for chemical analysis, subsequent offense, in violation of Code § 18.2-268.3.

On August 27, 2024, Ray waived a jury trial, entered pleas of not guilty to all four charges, and proceeded to trial. During cross examination, Deputy Clark testified that there was “nothing inherently illegal” about being intoxicated and sleeping in a vehicle “if the car [is not]

on.” Also, without objection, Deputy Clark testified that he “never saw [Ray] drive or operate a motor vehicle.”

At the close of the Commonwealth’s case in chief, Ray moved to strike the evidence. As to the felony charge of driving a motor vehicle while license revoked for a prior DUI conviction and the misdemeanor charge of unreasonably refusing to submit a breath sample for chemical analysis, Ray argued that the Commonwealth failed to prove that he drove on a public highway. He noted that Deputy Clark only saw him parked in the parking lot, and he contended that his admission of driving earlier did not establish when he drove.

As to the felony DUI charge, Ray conceded that the field sobriety tests provided “some inference of intoxication” but argued that the Commonwealth failed to prove “when this intoxication occur[red].” Asserting that his car was “unequivocally off” in the parking lot, he also argued that “there [was] no evidence of operation on the scene.” In addition, noting that neither the officer at the scene nor the Commonwealth at trial asked him to “pin down” how long he had been in the parking lot, Ray contended that the there was “no evidence of when the drinking or driving behavior occurred.” He pointed out that there was “no evidence as to when the BOLO or the underlying event occurred,” so the only evidence of his driving of a motor vehicle was his admission that he “drove here.” Thus, as to the misdemeanor charge of unreasonably refusing to submit a breath sample, he argued that the Commonwealth failed to prove that he was arrested within three hours of his driving behavior, thereby failing to prove applicability of Virginia’s implied consent law requiring him to submit to a chemical test for determining his blood alcohol concentration at the time of driving.

Finally, as to the felony charge of driving while license revoked for a prior DUI and the misdemeanor charge of driving a motor vehicle while deprived of the right to do so for a DUI

offense, Ray argued that he could not be convicted of both offenses. He therefore asked the circuit court to dismiss one of them.

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