Ruben Vasquez v. Director of Revenue

CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 16, 2022
DocketWD84700
StatusPublished

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

Bluebook
Ruben Vasquez v. Director of Revenue, (Mo. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

In the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District RUBEN VASQUEZ, ) ) Appellant, ) WD84700 ) v. ) OPINION FILED: August 16, 2022 ) DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, ) ) Respondent. )

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Clay County, Missouri The Honorable Louis Angles, Judge

Before Special Division: Gary D. Witt, Chief Judge, Presiding, Thomas N. Chapman, Judge, and Zel Fischer, Special Judge

Ruben Vasquez ("Vasquez") appeals the judgment of the Circuit Court of Clay

County, Missouri ("trial court"), following a bench trial, affirming the Director of

Revenue's ("Director") decision to suspend Vasquez's driving privileges. On appeal,

Vasquez argues the trial court erred in ruling Vazquez's arrest was supported by probable

cause that he committed an alcohol related offense in that there was insufficient evidence

Vasquez was intoxicated at the time of the automobile accident. Finding no error, we

affirm. Factual Background1

On June 2, 2020, at 4:35 p.m., two Clay County Sheriff officers received a dispatch

of a single-car accident. Deputy Edwards arrived at the scene three minutes after the

dispatch and observed a 2002 red Chevrolet Blazer backed into a deep ditch adjacent to a

residential driveway. Deputy Edwards contacted Vasquez, who was seated on the grass

near the rear passenger side of the vehicle. Deputy Edwards conducted an accident

investigation, obtained Vasquez's information, and inquired into whether Vasquez needed

medical attention.

Deputy Zubeck arrived approximately ten minutes after the dispatch. When he

arrived, Deputy Edwards informed Deputy Zubeck that there was alcohol inside the

vehicle. Deputy Zubeck began speaking with Vasquez, who was still sitting on the grass

near the rear of the vehicle. Vasquez was unable to stand up from a seated position without

assistance from the officer and almost fell to the ground after he stood up. Vasquez

informed Deputy Zubeck that he was 74 years of age and the owner of the vehicle. There

was no one else around the vehicle when the officers arrived. Deputy Zubeck conducted a

driving while intoxicated (DWI) investigation while Deputy Edwards conducted the

accident investigation. Deputy Zubeck observed Vasquez's pupils were dilated, and his

eyes were "watery or bloodshot." Deputy Zubeck noticed a "moderate odor of an

intoxicating beverage" coming from Vasquez's person. Vasquez told Deputy Zubeck that

he was taking several medications, including muscle relaxers and pain killers, but could

1 We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's judgment. Collier v. Dir. of Revenue, 603 S.W.3d 714, 715 n.1 (Mo. App. W.D. 2020).

2 not remember the particular names of the medications. Deputy Zubeck asked Vasquez if

he had had anything to drink that day, and Vasquez responded that he had consumed about

four beers. Vasquez rated his own level of intoxication as three on a scale of one to ten,

with one being completely sober and ten being the drunkest he had ever been in his life.

Vasquez also admitted that he had accidentally backed the truck into the ditch next to the

driveway while attempting to turn around using the residential driveway. Both rear tires

of the vehicle went into the ditch beside the driveway. The ditch contained a metal culvert

pipe for taking water under the roadway. The pipe was bent by the impact of the vehicle.

Deputy Zubeck attempted to perform the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus ("HGN") test

as part of the field sobriety tests. Vasquez was unable to stand without assistance in order

to take the test, almost falling several times while trying to stand with his feet together to

take the test. Deputy Zubeck had him lean against the hood of his vehicle for support to

attempt to take the HGN test. Vasquez could not complete the test as he was unable to

follow the instructions and Deputy Zubeck feared Vasquez would fall. Deputy Zubeck did

not attempt any other standardized field sobriety tests because Vasquez was "very unsteady

on his feet," and Deputy Zubeck had to physically hold Vasquez up during their interactions

to keep him from falling down. The video of the interaction between the deputies and

Vasquez confirms his inability to stand without assistance. Vasquez submitted to a

preliminary breath test ("PBT"), which returned a positive result for the presence of

alcohol. Deputy Zubeck called for medical assistance to determine if Vasquez needed to

be transported to a medical facility. An ambulance arrived, and it was determined that he

was "medically stable." Based on the interaction with Vasquez, Deputy Zubeck arrested

3 Vasquez for driving while intoxicated and placed him in handcuffs. Vasquez required both

deputies to assist him in walking to the patrol car to keep him from falling. Vasquez was

transported to the Clay County Detention Center. There, Vasquez submitted to a breath

test, which produced a result of .257% blood alcohol concentration ("BAC").

Deputy Zubeck interviewed Vasquez at the Clay County Detention Center to

prepare an Alcohol Influence Report ("AIR"), which was admitted over objection at trial.

Vasquez stated he had been drinking beer at his home from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Vasquez stated he had backed out of a driveway but was not involved in a motor vehicle

crash.

Deputy Zubeck testified that, during the DWI investigation at the location of the

accident, he did not check for intoxicants in or around the vehicle. Rather, Deputy Edwards

informed Deputy Zubeck that there was alcohol located inside the car. Deputy Edwards

first noticed a brown bottle in the cupholder on the console of the truck upon making first

contact with Vasquez. Deputy Edwards was later able to identity the brown bottle as a beer

bottle while conducting an inventory search of the vehicle for the tow report. Deputy

Edwards testified that the beer bottle had been opened and was filled up to the "shoulders"

of the bottle, and the bottle cap had been placed back on the top of the bottle. He also

testified that the bottle was cold to the touch and was showing condensation. During the

inventory search, Deputy Edwards found an opened 18-pack Miller Lite box in the back

seat, which contained twelve unopened containers. He did not find any empty alcohol

containers inside or outside of the vehicle.

4 Following an administrative hearing, the Director suspended Vasquez's driving

privileges, and Vasquez filed a petition for trial de novo in the trial court. See section

302.505.2 The Director requested the trial court issue findings of fact and conclusions of

law, pursuant to Rule 73.01(c).3 Following a bench trial, the trial court ruled in favor of

the Director and upheld the suspension of Vasquez's driving privileges. The trial court

found the information admitted at trial, including the AIR and the testimonies of Deputies

Edwards and Zubeck, to be credible. This appeal follows.

Standard of Review

A trial court's judgment in driver's license suspension and revocation cases is

reviewed as any court-tried civil case. White v. Dir. of Revenue, 321 S.W.3d 298, 307 (Mo.

banc 2010). "In an appeal from a court-tried civil case, we will affirm the trial court's

judgment unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the

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Related

Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
State v. Davis
217 S.W.3d 358 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
Stolle v. Director of Revenue
179 S.W.3d 470 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2005)
White v. Director of Revenue
321 S.W.3d 298 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2010)
State v. Hatfield
351 S.W.3d 774 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2011)
Chad Nicholas Ayler v. Director of Revenue, State of Missouri
439 S.W.3d 250 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2014)
Domsch v. Director of Revenue
767 S.W.2d 121 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1989)
Shanks v. Director of Revenue
534 S.W.3d 381 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2017)
State v. Wilhite
550 S.W.3d 141 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2018)
Boggs v. Dir. of Revenue
564 S.W.3d 693 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2018)

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Ruben Vasquez v. Director of Revenue, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ruben-vasquez-v-director-of-revenue-moctapp-2022.