State v. Turner

779 So. 2d 906, 0 La.App. 1 Cir. 0630, 2000 La. App. LEXIS 3587, 2000 WL 1871668
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 22, 2000
DocketNo. 2000 KA 0630
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 779 So. 2d 906 (State v. Turner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Turner, 779 So. 2d 906, 0 La.App. 1 Cir. 0630, 2000 La. App. LEXIS 3587, 2000 WL 1871668 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

J¿SCOTT J. CRICHTON, J. Pro Tem.

Defendant, Douglas L. Turner, Jr. was charged by bill of information with driving while intoxicated (DWI), fourth offense, a violation of La. R.S. 14:98. He pled not guilty and the matter was set for trial. He filed a motion to quash, which was denied by the trial court. Defendant was tried by a jury and found guilty as charged. Thereafter, the court sentenced defendant to fifteen year’s at hard labor.2 He has appealed, urging four assignments of error.

On May 2, 1998, Deputy Neal Blades of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriffs Office was returning home from working extra duty. A large white pickup truck was in traveling front of him. The truck turned off Monarch Drive into the parking lot of Deputy Blades’ apartment complex. Blades followed the truck into the parking lot. The truck stopped and its reverse lights came on. Assuming that the truck was trying to back up to park in an empty space he had just passed, Deputy Blades attempted to back up. Before he could get his vehicle into reverse, the truck ran into his car.

Defendant was the driver of the truck. Upon speaking with him, the deputy noticed a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Blades called the sheriffs department to report the accident. Deputy Thomas Glover, Jr. responded to the call. When Deputy Glover arrived at the scene, he also noted that defendant had an odor of alcohol on his breath. He had him perform two field sobriety tests on which defendant did poorly. Defendant was offered the opportunity to take a breath test which he refused. Defendant told Deputy Glover that he had been to Visions Nightclub and | ¡¡had consumed four beers. Deputy Sidney Simmons, who also responded to the scene, agreed that defendant performed poorly on the field sobriety tests.

Defendant testified in his own defense. He admitted that- he had been at the Visions Nightclub and had consumed four beers. He said that he had just completed offshore work and that he had been up for fifty-two hours. He also said that he was wearing contact lenses at the time of the stop which caused the redness that the officers noted in his eyes. He agreed that he did sway some when he took the field sobriety tests but said he was wearing mountain boots which caused his balance to be unsteady.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

In his first assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying the motion to quash the predicate offenses. On appeal, he challenges only the predicate arising from a guilty plea on October 31, 1995, in the City Court of Houma, Louisiana. He argues that the minute entry which was presented by the state at the motion to quash does not constitute a contemporaneous record of the guilty plea. He further complains that there is no indication that defendant made a knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel.

[908]*908In the instant case, the record reflects that the state presented only the minute entry at the motion to quash but, by the time of trial, had obtained a transcript of those proceedings which was submitted into evidence. In State v. Roblow, 623 So.2d 51, 55 (La.App. 1st Cir.1993), this Court examined the issue of what evidence the appellate court could consider in evaluating the trial court’s ruling on a motion to quash on the ground of improper venue. In that case we held that:

It is well established that, in determining whether or not the ruling on a defendant’s motion to suppress is correct, an appellate court is not limited to the evidence adduced at the 14hearing on the motion but may consider all pertinent evidence given at the trial of the case. State v. Beals, 410 So.2d 745, 747 (La.1982). See also State v. Francise, 597 So.2d 28, 30 n. 2 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 604 So.2d 970 (La.1992). Although we have found no case extending this rule to the review of a ruling on a motion to quash on the ground of improper venue, we see no reason why the same rationale should not apply.

In the instant case, as in Roblow, we have found no cases which extend this rule to a motion to quash predicate offenses in a DWI proceeding on the ground of failure to properly advise defendant of his constitutional rights. However, here as in Rob-low, we conclude that the same rationale should apply. Therefore, we will consider the evidence introduced at trial in reviewing the trial court’s decision.

The transcript of the October 31, 1995, guilty plea clearly shows, as in fact the minutes indicate, that defendant was thoroughly advised of all of his constitutional rights, including the right to counsel. The nature of the offense and the penalties for this and future offenses were also clearly explained. The court inquired briefly about defendant’s age and educational background and was informed that he was twenty-two years old, had a high school education and had learned the trade of electronics technician while serving in the Navy. The record further reflects that defendant was told that by pleading guilty he was waiving the constitutional rights that the court had just explained. Defendant indicated that he understood and wished to plead guilty.

In order for defendant’s guilty plea to be considered constitutionally valid, he must be informed of the three articulated rights required by Boykin. Considering the entire record, it is clear that the evidence relied upon by the state as to the October 31, 1995 predicate was sufficient to show 1 fiU valid waiver of the defendant’s constitutional rights, including the right to counsel and was, therefore, properly used to enhance the instant offense.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2

In this assignment of error, defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to exclude testimony regarding his refusal to take the Intoxolizer test on the basis that there was no evidence that he was traveling on a public highway at the time of the instant offense. La. R.S. 32:661(A)(2) authorizes the administration of the Intoxolizer tests when a person is driving on a public highway of the state in an intoxicated condition. In this case, defendant contends that the testimony of Deputy Blades is insufficient to establish that defendant was traveling on a public highway prior to the accident. Therefore, he argues, Deputy Glover did not have reasonable grounds to believe that defendant was operating his vehicle on a public highway. See State v. Zachary, 601 So.2d 27, 29 (La.App. 1st Cir.1992). Deputy Blades clearly testified that he turned onto Monarch Drive, a public street, and saw defendant’s truck in front of him. He then observed defendant turn into the parking lot of the Chateau Creole Apartments, which is the apartment complex where Deputy Blades lived. In State v. Lorenz, 572 So.2d 362 (La.App. 1st Cir.1990), writ denied, 575 So.2d 393 (La.1991), this Court concluded that La. [909]*909R.S. 32:661 includes and applies to persons operating motor vehicles upon city streets. Clearly, from the testimony referred to above, Deputy Glover had both direct and indirect evidence to conclude that defendant was traveling on a public highway prior to turning into the parking lot and, therefore, the trial court’s ruling on the motion in limine was correct.

| «ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 3

In his third assignment of error, defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict.

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Bluebook (online)
779 So. 2d 906, 0 La.App. 1 Cir. 0630, 2000 La. App. LEXIS 3587, 2000 WL 1871668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-turner-lactapp-2000.