United States v. Carrasco

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: May 30, 2003
• Docket: 02-51104
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS May 30, 2003 FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk

No. 02-51104 Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

JOSEPH A. CARRASCO,

Defendant-Appellant.

-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. SA-02-CR-57-ALL SA-01-M-540-ALL --------------------

Before BARKSDALE, DeMOSS, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Joseph A. Carrasco appeals his conviction following a bench

trial for driving while intoxicated in a public place located in

the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. He argues that

the evidence presented was not sufficient to show that his mental

and physical faculties were impaired at the time of his

apprehension.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Government, and deferring to all reasonable inferences drawn by the

magistrate judge, the evidence reflected that Carrasco emitted a

noticeable odor of alcohol, exhibited poor coordination and

attention span prior to and during testing, and advised the

representative of the prosecutor’s office that he was not driving

contrary to his testimony presented at trial. There was

substantial evidence to support the determination that Carrasco’s

mental and physical faculties were impaired by alcohol at the time

that he drove a vehicle into the area located within the

jurisdiction of the United States. See United States v. Cardenas,

9 F.3d 1139, 1156 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v. Fesler, 781

F.2d 384, 386 n.1 (5th Cir. 1986); 18 U.S.C. § 13; TEX. PENAL CODE

§ 49.04.

Carrasco’s conviction is AFFIRMED.