Peo v. Vigil

CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 20, 2025
Docket23CA1915
StatusUnpublished

This text of Peo v. Vigil (Peo v. Vigil) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Peo v. Vigil, (Colo. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

23CA1915 Peo v Vigil 02-20-2025

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS

Court of Appeals No. 23CA1915 Huerfano County District Court No. 22CR40 Honorable J. Clay McKisson, Judge

The People of the State of Colorado,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

Kevin James Vigil,

Defendant-Appellant.

JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS

Division VI Opinion by JUDGE WELLING Kuhn and Schutz, JJ., concur

NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced February 20, 2025

Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Caitlin E. Grant, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee

Michael J. Harris, Colorado Springs, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant ¶1 Kevin James Vigil appeals his convictions for unlawful

possession of a controlled substance; driving under the influence

(DUI) of alcohol, drugs, or both; and driving too slowly. We affirm in

part, reverse in part, and remand for a new trial on the driving too

slowly charge.

I. Background

¶2 While on patrol, Captain Corey Daniels observed Vigil driving

his car from a gas station onto Main Street in Walsenburg,

Colorado. Vigil drove up Main Street, traveling between two and

five miles an hour, before coming to a stop in the roadway opposite

where Captain Daniels was parked. Captain Daniels pulled up

behind Vigil after traffic had cleared. By that time, Vigil had moved

his car to the shoulder. Vigil quickly exited his car and alerted

Daniels that his car had broken down. State Trooper Amber Garcia

saw the interaction and responded almost immediately. Deputy

Jacob Jenkins and his trainee, Deputy Guess, both responded to

the scene as well.

¶3 Captain Daniels testified at trial that Vigil appeared sweaty

and was easily distracted, mumbling, nervous, disheveled, and

“didn’t make a whole lot of sense.” The officers also saw what

1 appeared to be a white powder residue around Vigil’s nostrils. After

Captain Daniels instructed Vigil not to reach into his pockets

several times, he eventually patted Vigil down for weapons in the

interest of officer safety. Captain Daniels testified that during that

pat-down he felt what he thought was a plastic bag in one of Vigil’s

pockets, but he didn’t remove it at that time. Captain Daniels then

asked Deputy Jenkins to have his canine do a sniff test of the

vehicle. Deputy Jenkins reported that the canine alerted twice to

the presence of narcotics in Vigil’s car. Ultimately, apart from the

dog sniff, no evidence from the car was presented at trial.

¶4 Next, Deputy Jenkins supervised while Deputy Guess

searched Vigil. Deputy Jenkins observed as Deputy Guess removed

the plastic bag from Vigil’s pocket. The bag contained what was

eventually determined to be over twenty-five grams of cocaine.

¶5 Vigil was placed in custody, and Trooper Garcia read him his

Miranda rights. Vigil agreed to perform several roadside sobriety

tests. First, Vigil permitted Trooper Garcia to perform a Horizontal

Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test — a test involving the observation of a

suspect’s eyes which can yield evidence of impairment, primarily by

alcohol. Although Garcia didn’t observe an HGN, she also had Vigil

2 perform a walk and turn test, which he failed. Next, Garcia had

Vigil stand on one leg, a test he also failed. Last, Trooper Garcia

had Vigil perform a Romberg test, which measures a person’s

internal clock. Vigil also failed this test. Trooper Garcia ultimately

made the determination that Vigil was under the influence of drugs

and returned him to Captain Daniels and his team’s custody.

Limited body camera footage from Captain Daniels was admitted at

trial.

¶6 Vigil was given an expressed consent advisement and chose to

submit a blood sample. Officers drove him to a nearby hospital to

have his blood drawn. Vigil’s blood tested positive for cocaine and

cocaine metabolites.

¶7 Vigil was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia,

unlawful possession of a controlled substance; DUI – alcohol,

drugs, or both; and driving too slowly. Vigil was acquitted of

possession of drug paraphernalia, convicted of the remaining

charges, and sentenced to one year in community corrections.

II. Issues on Appeal

¶8 Vigil advanced four issues on appeal. Specifically, he argues

that (1) there wasn’t probable cause for the dog sniff or his arrest;

3 (2) while testifying, Trooper Garcia improperly commented on his

invocation of his right to remain silent; (3) there was insufficient

evidence presented at trial to support any of his convictions; and

(4) the trial court erred when it submitted a jury instruction on

driving too slowly that left out part of the governing statute. We

reject his first three arguments but agree with his fourth, so we

affirm Vigil’s convictions for unlawful possession of a controlled

substance and DUI and reverse his conviction for driving too slowly.

Accordingly, we remand for a new trial on the driving too slowly

charge.

A. Probable Cause

¶9 Before trial, Vigil moved to suppress all the evidence collected

after the stop and canine deployment, arguing that both actions

were unconstitutional due to a lack of probable cause. The court

denied the motion. Vigil argues that the court erred, but we

disagree.

1. Standard of Review

¶ 10 When reviewing a court’s ruling on a motion to suppress, “[w]e

defer to the trial court’s factual findings that are supported by

competent evidence but review the legal effect of those facts de

4 novo.” People v. Ackerman, 2015 CO 27, ¶ 10 (quoting People v.

Munoz-Gutierrez, 2015 CO 9, ¶ 14).

¶ 11 Both the United States and Colorado Constitutions protect

against unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. amend.

IV; Colo. Const. art. II, § 7. A warrantless search is “presumptively

unreasonable” unless it falls within an exception to the warrant

requirement. People v. Berdahl, 2019 CO 29, ¶ 19. One such

exception allows an arresting officer to search an arrestee’s person

and the area within their immediate control. People v. Gothard, 185

P.3d 180, 184 (Colo. 2008). In order to have probable cause, at the

time an officer is making an arrest, the facts and circumstances

available to a reasonably cautious officer must justify a belief that

“(1) an offense has been or is being committed (2) by the person

arrested.” People v. King, 16 P.3d 807, 813 (Colo. 2001).

2. Additional Facts

¶ 12 At the suppression hearing, Captain Daniels testified that

when Vigil exited his car, he was shaky, sweaty, nervous, easily

confused, and not speaking in full sentences. Captain Daniels also

testified that Vigil had what appeared to be white residue around

his nostrils. Vigil’s attorney argued that Vigil had safely parked his

5 car on the shoulder of the road and wasn’t a danger or an

impediment to traffic.

¶ 13 The trial court found that, based on Captain Daniels’

testimony, Vigil hadn’t legally parked his car on the shoulder and

that his vehicle was impeding traffic.

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Related

People v. Huckleberry
768 P.2d 1235 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1989)
People v. Gothard
185 P.3d 180 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2008)
People v. Weinreich
119 P.3d 1073 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2005)
People v. Platt
170 P.3d 802 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2007)
People v. King
16 P.3d 807 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2001)
Platt v. People
201 P.3d 545 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2009)
People v. Ackerman
2015 CO 27 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2015)
People v. Munoz-Gutierrez
2015 CO 9 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2015)
People v. Zuniga
2016 CO 52 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2016)
People v. Jacobson
2017 COA 92 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2017)
People v. Berdahl
2019 CO 29 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2019)
People v. McKnight
2019 CO 36 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2019)
McCoy v. People
2019 CO 44 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2019)
v. People
2020 CO 54 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2020)
Thompson v. People
2020 CO 72 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2020)
People v. Garcia
28 P.3d 340 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2001)
People v. Miller
113 P.3d 743 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2005)
Day v. Johnson
255 P.3d 1064 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2011)
Hagos v. People
2012 CO 63 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2012)
United States v. Wacker
72 F.3d 1453 (Tenth Circuit, 1995)

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