State v. Barac
State v. Barac
Opinion of the Court
Karbino William Deng Barac ("Barac") appeals from the trial court's entry of judgment convicting him of driving while intoxicated as an aggravated offender after a bench trial. Barac argues that there was insufficient evidence to establish the offense's temporal requirement--that Barac had operated the vehicle while intoxicated. We affirm.
Factual and Procedural History
On April 5, 2017, at approximately 6 p.m., Officer Jason Hill ("Jason Hill") of the St. Joseph, Missouri Police Department was dispatched to a wellbeing check on Interstate 229 near Exit 22. Officer Hill testified that, when he received the call, he was already driving south on 22nd Street, so he was not far from the location of the wellbeing check. Officer Hill described the vehicle as resting on Interstate 229, directly before the bridge over 22nd Street. The vehicle was positioned so that it was six to twelve inches from the concrete bridge, and was parked parallel to the guardrail, which was only a few inches away from the vehicle so that no one could enter or exit the vehicle on the passenger side.
When Officer Hill approached the vehicle, he saw Barac slumped with his head on the steering wheel. Officer Hill opened the vehicle's door, and Barac immediately became uncooperative and combative. Officer Hill smelled a strong odor of intoxicants coming from Barac's body and noticed Barac's bloodshot, watery eyes. Further, Barac's speech was slurred, but as the encounter continued, Barac's speech improved. Officer Hill asked Barac to submit to a portable breath test. Barac refused. Officer Hill testified that he did not attempt to conduct any field *129sobriety tests at the scene because it was apparent to him that Barac would refuse to participate. Thereafter, Officer Hill placed Barac under arrest and escorted him to the patrol car. Barac used short, uncertain steps, walking slowly toward the patrol car. Officer Hill transported Barac to the station. While at the station, Barac refused to submit to a breath or blood test, so Officer Hill obtained a warrant to take a blood sample. Barac's blood sample indicated that he had a blood alcohol content of .359 percent.
While on the scene, Officer Hill confirmed that the vehicle was registered to Barac. Officer Hill testified that, while the vehicle was not running, the vehicle's key was in the ignition and turned to the "on" position so that Officer Hill had to turn the key counterclockwise to remove it from the ignition. Officer Hill also testified that he found no containers of alcohol around the vehicle, and during a subsequent inventory search of the car, he found no containers of alcohol in the car itself. On cross-examination, Officer testified that he did not feel the vehicle's hood to determine whether it was hot and that he did not check if the vehicle had gas. Officer Hill then testified that he did not know how long the vehicle had been parked on the scene.
The State charged Barac with driving while intoxicated as a persistent offender in violation of section 577.010.
Barac appeals.
Standard of Review
We assess the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction in a court-tried case using the same standard as in a jury-tried case. State v. Sutton ,
Analysis
Barac raises a single point on appeal in which he argues that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was driving while intoxicated as an aggravated offender. Barac does not deny that he was intoxicated when Officer Hill arrived on the scene and does not dispute that his prior convictions render him an aggravated offender. Instead, Barac argues that the State failed to present sufficient evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Barac operated his vehicle while intoxicated. In other words, Barac challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the temporal connection between Barac's alleged operation of the vehicle and his intoxication. Barac asserts that, because no witness testified that they *130actually observed Barac driving the vehicle and because Officer Hill testified that the engine was not running when he found Barac slumped over the steering wheel, the question at trial was whether the evidence presented by the State demonstrated that Barac operated the vehicle while intoxicated before Officer Hill arrived on the scene. Barac contends that, pursuant to relevant precedent, the evidence presented was insufficient to demonstrate that Barac had done so. We disagree.
"A person commits the offense of driving while intoxicated if he or she operates a vehicle while in an intoxicated condition." Section 577.010.1. As used in Chapter 577, " '[d]rive,' 'driving,' 'operates' or 'operating,' means physically driving or operating a vehicle or vessel." Section 577.001(9). Our Supreme Court has concluded, using the dictionary definitions of "drive" and "operate," that a defendant "drives" a vehicle when he or she "guide[s] it along or through anything," and that a defendant "operates" a vehicle when he or she causes the car to function by direct personal effort or work. Cox v. Dir. of Revenue ,
"[I]n those cases in which the accused engine was not running at the time in question, the State must present 'significant additional evidence of driving [or operating] and the connection of driving [or operating] in an intoxicated state ... to sustain a criminal conviction.' " State v. Chambers ,
In State v. Baker , we considered whether the State presented "significant additional evidence" that the defendant drove or operated his vehicle while intoxicated. Id. at 733. There, the State presented evidence that an eyewitness called 911 after *131observing the defendant's vehicle parked in the middle of a busy intersection, blocking a lane of traffic. Id. at 734, 735. The eyewitness saw the sole occupant of the vehicle leaning back in the driver's seat of the vehicle, with his arm hanging out the window. Id. at 734. The officer dispatched to the scene saw a vehicle parked in the middle of an intersection with the driver's door open and the defendant's sandals on the driver's side floorboard. Id. The officer also observed the vehicle's key in its ignition in the "on" position, but the engine was not running. Id. The vehicle's head lights and rear lights were illuminated. Id. The officer observed two open and largely consumed bottles of whiskey in the vehicle. Id. at 735. The officer confirmed that the vehicle was registered to the defendant, who the officer saw staggering away from the vehicle barefoot. Id. at 734. The defendant ultimately fell face down in a nearby yard. Id. When the officer approached the defendant, the officer smelled a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the defendant's person and observed other signs of intoxication. Id. at 735. The defendant refused to take field sobriety tests and refused to submit to a chemical breath test. Id.
We concluded that, from that evidence, the trial court could have reasonably inferred that, while the defendant was intoxicated, he:
drove his vehicle into the middle of a busy intersection; stopped his vehicle so as to block a lane of traffic without putting on his flashers (as a reasonable and sober person would do upon having mechanical issues); passed out behind the steering wheel of his vehicle next to his two open McCormick whiskey bottles that he had been consuming in large quantities; was noticed shortly thereafter by another driver in this moderate to heavy traffic intersection who called 9-1-1; awakened shortly thereafter and continued to be so intoxicated that he attempted to stagger away from his vehicle on foot without shoes that he was previously wearing and which were-not so coincidentally-found in the driver's-side floorboard by the foot pedals of his vehicle; fell face first into the grass twenty-five feet from his car; and belligerently refused field sobriety testing or breathalyzer testing.
Id. Based on the evidence presented and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, we concluded that the State presented "sufficient and significant circumstantial evidence for a reasonable trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that [the defendant] drove or operated his vehicle in temporal connection to his severe intoxication." Id. ; see also State v. Varnell ,
Here, the trial court had before it the following evidence: At approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, Officer Hill was dispatched to check the wellbeing of a person in a vehicle parked on Interstate 229 near an exit. Officer Hill arrived shortly thereafter. Officer Hill observed that the vehicle was parked precariously, so that its front end was less than a foot from a concrete bridge, and the vehicle was parallel to and only inches away from the guardrail so that no one could enter into or exit from the passenger side of the vehicle. Barac was seated in the driver's seat and was slumped over with his head resting on the steering wheel. When Barac awoke, he was immediately uncooperative, combative, and showed signs of intoxication. Officer Hill determined that the *132vehicle was registered to Barac. Officer Hill found the key in the vehicle's ignition and turned to the "on" position so that he had to turn it counterclockwise to remove it from the ignition, though the vehicle's engine was not running. Officer Hill found no containers of alcohol around the vehicle or in the vehicle. After being arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Barac refused to submit to a breath or blood test, requiring a warrant to test Barac's blood. The blood test indicated that Barac had a blood alcohol content of .359 percent, more than four times the legal limit.
From this evidence, the trial court could have reasonably inferred that the vehicle, precariously parked on an interstate at 6 p.m. on a weekday evening, had not been at that location for an extended period when Officer Hill was dispatched to and arrived at the scene.
We conclude that all of the evidence and inferences drawn therefrom, when viewed in the light most favorable to the conviction, "constitute[ ] sufficient and significant circumstantial evidence for a reasonable trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that [Barac] drove or operated his vehicle in temporal connection to his severe intoxication."
Barac cites a trio of cases to support his position that the evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom do not constitute sufficient and significant circumstantial evidence permitting a reasonable factfinder to conclude that Barac drove or operated the vehicle while he was intoxicated: State v. Hatfield ,
In Hatfield , a police officer was dispatched to the scene of an accident at approximately 11:00 a.m.
*133
In Davis , we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant drove while intoxicated.
Chambers involved a defendant found slumped over the steering wheel of a car parked in a residential driveway.
Barac's point on appeal is denied.
Conclusion
We affirm the trial court's judgment.
All concur
We view the facts in the light most favorable to the conviction. State v. Sutton ,
All statutory references are to RSMo 2016 unless otherwise indicated.
Barac argues in his reply brief that, because the State did not present evidence at trial about the amount of traffic on Interstate 229 where the vehicle was found parked, the trial court could not have inferred that the vehicle had not been in that location long before Officer Hill was dispatched. However, both a trial court and an appellate court may take judicial notice of "current history, of geographical ... facts, and of facts commonly known to all mankind." Reineman v. Larkin ,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.