State v. Kugele

2006 Ohio 7275, 868 N.E.2d 759, 141 Ohio Misc. 2d 20
CourtClermont County Municipal Court
DecidedAugust 14, 2006
DocketNos. 2005 TRC 23073 and 2005 CRB 08487
StatusPublished

This text of 2006 Ohio 7275 (State v. Kugele) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Clermont County Municipal Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kugele, 2006 Ohio 7275, 868 N.E.2d 759, 141 Ohio Misc. 2d 20 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2006).

Opinion

Haddad, Judge.

{¶ 1} This matter came before the court on March 23, 2006, and March 27, 2006, for hearing on the defendant’s motion to suppress/motion to dismiss filed on January 19, 2006. The state was represented by Assistant Clermont County Prosecutor Carol Rowe. The defendant was present and represented by attorney Steve Adams. Upon receipt of the testimony and evidence, the court heard oral argument and took the matter under advisement. The court now renders the following decision.

FINDINGS OF FACT

{¶ 2} On December 24, 2005, around 2:00 a.m., the defendant, Christopher Kugele, and two of his friends were in a bar called the Mt. Carmel Pub and Grub when they started causing a minor disturbance. In the process, drinks were spilled, and the defendant knocked over a barstool. When the defendant leaned over to pick up the stool, he knocked over another stool. The night manager, Gary Branam (an off-duty Felicity police officer), witnessed the disturbance and asked the three men to leave the establishment. The three complied with his request and exited the bar. Shortly thereafter, other bar patrons informed Branam that there was a “situation” in the parking lot — i.e., the defendant’s two companions began a verbal altercation with each other. Branam went outside and observed the events for himself. At one point, the defendant left his two fighting companions, walked over to his van, and got something like a small [26]*26sledgehammer out of the van. He proceeded to strike his van with the hammer twice. He then approached his companions, still swinging the hammer. As far as Branam could tell, the defendant never actually hit his companions with the hammer. After a while, the defendant was able to convince his friends to get into the van, but it appeared that they were still fighting because there was still yelling (including obscenities) and “thudding,” and the van was shaking from side to side, as if there was a great deal of physical activity/struggling inside the van. While still watching the van, Branam placed a call to the Union Township police dispatcher to report his observations. He informed the dispatcher that a couple guys were fighting on the parking lot and that one of the guys had a hammer. He also told the dispatcher that it looked like the men were still fighting in the van. As Branam was talking to the dispatcher, the defendant exited the parking lot and made a left turn onto Mt. Carmel-Tobasco Road. Branam described the defendant’s van to the dispatcher as a white Chevy van with a rack/ladder on top. Branam watched the defendant’s van as the defendant stopped at a red traffic light at the intersection of Mt. Carmel-Tobasco Road and Old State Route 74. When the light turned, the defendant proceeded straight through the intersection. Branam then lost sight of the vehicle.

{¶ 3} The dispatcher radioed a message for officers to be on the lookout for a white Chevy work van with a rack on top. She indicated that the occupants had been involved in a fight at the Mt. Carmel Pub and Grub and that one of the individuals had a hammer. Officers were further informed that the van was headed straight towards State Route 32.

{¶ 4} While hearing the broadcast, at approximately 2:16 a.m., Officer Todd Taylor of the Union Township Police Department spotted a vehicle meeting the description given in the dispatch report, and the van at that time was approximately a quarter of a mile away from the Mt. Carmel Pub and Grub. Officer Taylor was on duty, in uniform, and traveling in a marked police cruiser. He pulled the van over on State Route 32, just west of Bell’s Lane in Clermont County, Ohio.

{¶ 5} After pulling the defendant’s van over, Officer Taylor got out of his cruiser and approached the van on foot. The first thing Taylor noticed when he made contact with the defendant was that the defendant’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. When Officer Taylor asked the defendant what happened at the bar, the defendant answered with slurred speech. Officer Taylor noticed a strong odor of alcohol. Officer Taylor asked the defendant whether he had consumed any alcohol, to which the defendant responded that he had consumed a few beers. Officer Taylor then asked the defendant to step out of the van. Once the defendant was outside the van, Officer Taylor could still smell the strong odor of alcohol. Officer Taylor informed the defendant that he wanted to perform field [27]*27sobriety tests. To this the defendant responded, “I’m not taking any fuckin’ test.” Up until this point, the defendant had been cooperative, but then suddenly he became belligerent. The defendant told Officer Taylor, “[Y]ou might as well take me directly to jail.” At this point, Officer Taylor formed the opinion that the defendant was under the influence and too intoxicated to drive. He put the defendant in handcuffs and placed him in his cruiser.

{¶ 6} Within a couple of minutes, the defendant somehow managed to maneuver his hands, still in handcuffs, so that they were in front of him rather than behind him. The defendant was told that he needed to keep his hands behind his back. He became more argumentative and threatened officers on the scene. Officer Taylor radioed his supervisor and requested permission to place the defendant in a hobble restraint. When his supervisor, Sergeant Blankenship, of the Union Township Police Department arrived on the scene, the defendant was removed from the cruiser. A struggle ensued before the defendant was taken to the ground and placed in the hobble restraint. The defendant was then placed back in Taylor’s cruiser on his side.

{¶ 7} The defendant was transported to the Clermont County Jail and was given the Miranda warnings while en route. At Sergeant Blankenship’s request, Officer Pavia of the Union Township Police Department followed Officer Taylor down to the Clermont County Jail. Once Officers Taylor and Pavia took the defendant inside the jail, Officer Taylor read Form 2255 to the defendant while Officer Pavia served as a witness. The defendant refused to submit to a breath test. The defendant did not sign the Form 2255; it is unclear whether the defendant was ever given a chance to sign it or whether he was asked to and refused to sign it.

{¶ 8} The defendant was charged with driving under the influence (“DUI”) in violation of R.C. 4511.19A(l)(a), and resisting arrest in violation of R.C. 2921.33. In support of his motion to suppress/motion to dismiss, the defendant submits that the initial stop of his van and his subsequent arrest were both unconstitutional and that all evidence obtained as a result of the stop and arrest should be suppressed. He also argues that the officers failed to follow proper procedure as it pertains to his refusal to submit to the breath test. Finally, the defendant submits that the charge for resisting arrest should be dismissed because the underlying arrest was unconstitutional.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

{¶ 9} Individuals are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. United States v. Hensley (1985), 469 U.S. 221, 226, 105 S.Ct. 675, 83 L.Ed.2d 604. An investigative stop conducted by law enforcement officials is considered a signifi[28]*28cant intrusion that constitutes a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes. State v. Heinrichs (1988), 46 Ohio App.3d 63, 545 N.E.2d 1304.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2006 Ohio 7275, 868 N.E.2d 759, 141 Ohio Misc. 2d 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kugele-ohmunictclermon-2006.