State v. Kenyiba

CourtNebraska Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 14, 2014
DocketA-13-457
StatusUnpublished

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

Bluebook
State v. Kenyiba, (Neb. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

IN THE NEBRASKA COURT OF APPEALS

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT ON APPEAL

STATE V. KENYIBA

NOTICE: THIS OPINION IS NOT DESIGNATED FOR PERMANENT PUBLICATION AND MAY NOT BE CITED EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY NEB. CT. R. APP. P. § 2-102(E).

STATE OF NEBRASKA, APPELLEE, V. PAUL B. KENYIBA, APPELLANT.

Filed January 14, 2014. No. A-13-457.

Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County: STEPHANIE F. STACY, Judge. Affirmed in part, and in part reversed and remanded with directions. Dennis R. Keefe, Lancaster County Public Defender, and Elizabeth Elliott for appellant. Jon Bruning, Attorney General, and Nathan A. Liss for appellee.

INBODY, Chief Judge, and PIRTLE and RIEDMANN, Judges. PIRTLE, Judge. INTRODUCTION Paul B. Kenyiba appeals his convictions and sentences by the district court for Lancaster County for driving under the influence (DUI), third offense, and willful reckless driving entered on April 30, 2013. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. BACKGROUND On July 12, 2012, the State filed an information charging Kenyiba with three counts: (1) DUI, with refusal of chemical test (two prior convictions); (2) willful reckless driving, first offense; and (3) leaving the scene of an accident, first offense. Kenyiba was arraigned on July 25 and entered pleas of not guilty. An enhancement hearing was held on April 22, 2013, and a bench trial was held on April 24. Bryan Delgado testified that on April 6, 2012, between 4 and 5 p.m., he was driving near a grocery store at 27th Street and Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln, Nebraska. He testified he saw a silver car pull out of the grocery store’s parking lot, hit another vehicle, and drive off. He

-1- testified that he pulled over to check on the driver of the vehicle that was hit and that he then pursued the silver car and called the 911 emergency dispatch service. He caught up to the car and saw that it was weaving in and out of traffic and appeared to be chasing another vehicle. He said he saw the silver car ram the vehicle it was chasing and attempt to sideswipe it. Delgado continued to follow the silver car and kept in contact with the police as he followed the silver car to an apartment complex near First and Adams Streets. He parked across the street from the apartment complex and waited for the police to arrive. Delgado was shown a picture of the silver car, which was offered as exhibit 1, and he confirmed it was the silver car in question. Jean Lado Andrea testified that she was driving in front of the silver car on Cornhusker Highway and that she lives in the apartment complex where the silver car stopped. Andrea testified that she left the same grocery store and that she looked in her rearview mirror and saw a silver car behind her driving erratically, “swerving and hitting cars.” Andrea testified that she recognized the driver of the silver car as Kenyiba, who used to be a family friend. Andrea testified Kenyiba was the only person in the silver car, that he hit two or three cars on Cornhusker Highway, and that he then followed Andrea back to her apartment complex. Andrea testified that when she got home, she told her father about what happened, and that the police arrived approximately 30 minutes later. Andrea testified that the silver car in exhibit 1 was the silver car in question and that she had no doubt it was Kenyiba who was driving. A 9-year-old boy testified that he was outside playing basketball in the apartment complex when a gray car drove through the complex and hit another car. The boy stated that Kenyiba was driving the gray car and that he was the only person in the car. The boy spoke with the police about the incident when they arrived, and he testified that the car in exhibit 1 was the car he saw Kenyiba driving that day. The boy stated he was sure he saw Kenyiba hit a green car and that he had not heard about the accident from anyone else. The responding officer in this case was Carla Cue of the Lincoln Police Department. Cue testified that when she arrived at the apartment complex, she found the silver car in question but no one was in it. She was informed the suspect had been standing in front of apartment No. 4, so she went there to speak with the residents. She was directed to the commons area of the apartment complex, where she found Kenyiba, who smelled strongly of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes. Cue asked Kenyiba if the silver Chrysler Sebring in question was his, and Kenyiba said yes. Cue asked Kenyiba to accompany her to her police cruiser, and she noted he was unsteady as he walked. Cue testified that in her opinion, Kenyiba was under the influence of alcohol and could not have safely operated a vehicle in his condition. Cue also testified that she did not see any alcohol near him when she spoke to him in the commons area. Cue conducted a records check on Kenyiba when she returned to her cruiser and discovered that Kenyiba had an active warrant. At that time, she placed him under arrest and searched the silver Sebring. She did not find any alcohol in the car. Cue also took pictures of the car, which show that it sustained damage to the rear passenger side quarter panel, the rear passenger side door, the front passenger side quarter panel and bumper, and also the front bumper. Cue testified that the damage to the car appeared fresh. Cue testified that there was damage on the green vehicle consistent with the damage on Kenyiba’s car. After finishing her investigation at the apartment complex, Cue transported Kenyiba to jail and an Officer Dlouhy attempted to do a chemical breath test. Dlouhy read the postarrest

-2- chemical test advisement to Kenyiba, and Kenyiba acknowledged that he understood. Dlouhy followed the procedures set forth in title 177 of the Nebraska Administrative Code. Dlouhy instructed Kenyiba on how to blow into the machine for his breath test, but Kenyiba said he was not the driver of the vehicle and was not going to blow into the machine. Dlouhy held the mouthpiece up to Kenyiba’s mouth and told him that he would receive a citation for refusing the chemical test if he did not blow into the machine, and Kenyiba continued to decline testing. Dlouhy testified that he spent a significant period of time with Kenyiba and that he noticed Kenyiba smelled strongly of alcoholic beverage, he had bloodshot eyes, and his demeanor was “very up and down.” Dlouhy testified that in his opinion, Kenyiba was under the influence of alcohol and was in no condition to safely operate a motor vehicle. The district court found Kenyiba guilty of willful reckless driving and DUI with refusal, but that court found Kenyiba not guilty of leaving the scene of an accident. An enhancement hearing was held in the district court, during which the State introduced certified copies of court documents reflecting Kenyiba’s two prior Kentucky DUI convictions. Exhibit 11 is a “Daily Disposition Report” from Jefferson District Court in Kentucky, reflecting two separate cases, 07-T-007094 and 07-T-022817, in which Kenyiba appeared with counsel, entered guilty pleas, and was sentenced for “Op MV Under/Influence of Alcohol/Drugs, etc. .08 1st off.” Exhibits 12 and 13 contain court-certified copies of the “guilty plea” form and uniform citation for each case, which indicate that Kenyiba was arrested for DUI on January 24 and March 9, 2007, and pled guilty to both offenses on March 14. Kenyiba did not object to the admission of these exhibits into evidence, but he asserted they should not be used for enhancement of his sentence in this case. Kenyiba argued that the exhibits failed to clearly show the offenses to which he pled and whether there were two separate convictions. The district court found that both of the prior convictions were valid for enhancement purposes and enhanced Kenyiba’s current DUI to a third offense, a Class IIIA felony.

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State v. Kenyiba, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kenyiba-nebctapp-2014.