Stutte v. State

2014 Ark. App. 139, 432 S.W.3d 661, 2014 WL 766662, 2014 Ark. App. LEXIS 192
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 26, 2014
DocketCR-12-1027
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2014 Ark. App. 139 (Stutte v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stutte v. State, 2014 Ark. App. 139, 432 S.W.3d 661, 2014 WL 766662, 2014 Ark. App. LEXIS 192 (Ark. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

BILL H. WALMSLEY, Judge.

| íAppellant Charles Stutte appeals his convictions for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and resisting arrest. He argues that the warrantless arrest in his home violated the Fourth Amendment and that there was insufficient evidence of resisting arrest. We affirm.

Appellant filed a motion to dismiss in circuit court, arguing that his arrest constituted an unreasonable search and seizure because the arresting officer entered his home without a warrant or exigent circumstances.1 The motion was heard in conjunction with appellant’s bench trial.

Corporal Robert Hargus of the Fayette-ville Police Department testified that on July 31, 2011, he was working as a selective traffic enforcement unit in the Mount Comfort area. He noted that, prior to the incident involving appellant, there had been some calls reporting loud parties in that area. Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Hargus observed appellant’s car 12exceeding the speed limit and failing to maintain its lane. He saw the car move side to side, crossing onto the broken white line separating the lanes. Hargus then activated his recording device and followed the car. He saw the car twice move left over the double yellow line and subsequently move over the solid white fog line. Hargus testified that there was moderate traffic in the area at the time. Har-gus activated his patrol lights, but the car did not pull over and continued on at the same speed. Hargus felt that the car could have safely pulled over because there were large open parking areas in the immediate vicinity.

When the car did not respond to his blue lights, Hargus activated his siren. Again the car did not pull over and continued traveling at the same pace. In a final attempt to get the car stopped, Hargus shined his spot light into the rear view mirrors of the car. Still, it did not pull over. Eventually, the car turned left onto another street, turned into a driveway, and parked in a garage that had just been opened. Hargus had unsuccessfully attempted to stop the car for more than a minute.

Hargus testified that appellant got out of his car and began walking towards the rear of the car. Hargus asked him to stop and said that he needed to talk to him. Appellant replied “what,” and Hargus repeated his request to come talk to him. Appellant then replied “why” and turned to walk toward the interior door to the house. Hargus said that he stepped inside the garage, grabbed appellant’s right arm, and told him to stop. Hargus said that he smelled a strong odor of intoxicants and observed that appellant was sweating. Appellant tugged his right arm, used profanities, and tried to walk away. Hargus said at that point he told appellant that he was under arrest for suspicion of drunk driving. Appellant struggled [swhen Har-gus attempted to handcuff him. Appellant was charged with DWI, resisting arrest, violation of the implied-consent law, and careless driving.

Appellant argued that there were no exigent circumstances that would have allowed Hargus to enter his garage for a misdemeanor arrest. The circuit court found that there was probable cause for appellant’s arrest, that there were exigent circumstances, and that driving while intoxicated was not a minor offense. The court found appellant guilty of all of the charges and merged the careless-driving count into the DWI conviction.

I. DWI

A warrantless entry into a private home is presumptively unreasonable. Norris v. State, 338 Ark. 397, 993 S.W.2d 918 (1999). The burden is on the State to prove that the warrantless activity was reasonable. Id. On appeal, this court will make an independent determination of the reasonableness of the warrantless arrest based on the totality of the circumstances. Id.

The United States Supreme Court held in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980), that warrantless felony arrests in the home are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, absent probable cause and exigent circumstances. Exigent circumstances are those requiring immediate aid or action, and, while there is no definite list of what constitutes exigent circumstances, several established examples include the risk of removal or destruction of evidence, danger to the Uves of police officers or others, and the hot pursuit of a suspect. Steinmetz v. State, 366 Ark. 222, 225, 234 S.W.3d 302, 304 (2006).

Appellant argues that Corporal Hargus entered his garage without probable cause or |4exigent circumstances in order to arrest him for a relatively minor offense. He argues that it was determined in Norris that DWI was a minor offense for Fourth Amendment purposes and that Hargus did not even have probable cause to arrest him for DWI prior to entering the garage. Appellant contends that two exigent circumstances alleged by the State below — the destruction of evidence and the danger of appellant returning to his car— were rejected in Norris.

In Norris, a citizen who observed the appellant driving erratically followed him home. The witness reported his observations to the police. Thereafter, the police went to the residence, gained entry, and arrested the appellant for DWI after locating him in his bedroom. The supreme court held that the warrantless home arrest was unreasonable under these circumstances. The Norris court relied on Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740, 104 S.Ct. 2091, 80 L.Ed.2d 732 (1984).

In Welsh, a witness saw the appellant driving erratically and ultimately driving off the road. The witness observed the driver abandon the car and walk away. He reported the incident to the police, and the police located an address by checking the vehicle registration. The police went to the address, entered the home, found the appellant in his bed, and arrested him for DWI. Thus, the facts of the Norris and Welsh cases are clearly and strikingly distinguishable from the case at bar.

Probable cause to arrest is defined as “a reasonable ground for suspicion supported by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious man in believing that a crime has been committed by the person suspected.” Hilton v. State, 80 Ark.App. 401, 405, 96 S.W.3d 757, 760 (2003). Probable cause to arrest does not require the quantum of proof |finecessary to support a conviction, and in assessing the existence of probable cause, the appellate court’s review is liberal rather than strict. Id. We look to the facts within the arresting officer’s knowledge — not his stated reasoning — to determine whether those facts are sufficient to permit a person of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been committed. Banks v. State, 2010 Ark. App. 383, 2010 WL 1790768.

If a person knows that his immediate detention is being attempted by a duly authorized law enforcement officer, it is the lawful duty of the person to refrain from fleeing, either on foot or by means of any vehicle or conveyance. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-54-125(a) (Supp.2011).

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Stutte v. State
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2014 Ark. App. 139, 432 S.W.3d 661, 2014 WL 766662, 2014 Ark. App. LEXIS 192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stutte-v-state-arkctapp-2014.