State v. Cole
State v. Cole
Opinion
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Defendant Gregory Cole appeals a judgment entered after a jury convicted him of driving while impaired ("DWI"). He argues the superior court erred by (1) denying his motion to dismiss the indictment
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for lack of jurisdiction because the same charge against him remained pending and valid in district court; (2) denying his motion to suppress the results of roadside sobriety tests and a later intoxilyzer test because those tests were administered during an unlawful detention that arose as a direct consequence of an illegal roadside breath test and thus constituted tainted fruit of that poisonous tree; (3) denying his motion to suppress the intoxilyzer results on the additional ground that the superior court improperly concluded the administrating officer's request he submit a breath sample on a second intoxilyzer machine after the first one failed to produce a valid result did not constitute a request for a "subsequent chemical analysis" under
We hold the superior court properly (1) denied the motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction because the district court charge was no longer pending or valid; (2) denied the motion to suppress the evidence discovered after the roadside breath test because, before that test, objective reasonable suspicion existed that defendant may be driving while impaired, thereby justifying the officer to prolong the initial traffic stop to investigate defendant's potential impairment; (3) denied the motion to suppress the intoxilyzer results because the officer's request that defendant submit another breath sample to administer the same chemical analysis of the breath on a second intoxilyzer machine did not trigger
I. Background
The State's evidence tended to show the following facts. Around 12:30 a.m. on 8 March 2015, Officer Jonathan Ray of the Weaverville Police Department was conducting a business security check at Twisted Laurel, a bar and grill in Weaverville, when he observed defendant exit through the back door of the business and walk toward the parking lot. After completing the business check a few minutes later, Officer
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Ray started working traffic control and observed a burgundy van leave Twisted Laurel's parking lot with no rear lamps illuminating its license plate in violation of
Officer Ray asked defendant to submit to a roadside breath test using an Alco Sensor SFST. Defendant replied "[t]he preliminary breath test on the roadside was illegal to use in the State of North Carolina." After Officer Ray informed defendant that if he did not submit to the test, he would be taken into custody and transported to the station for a breath sample, defendant agreed to submit to the roadside breath test, which produced a positive result. Officer Ray then directed defendant out of his vehicle and administered roadside sobriety tests. According to Officer Ray, defendant exhibited "six out of the six clues" on the horizontal gaze nystagmus ("HGN") test; "[f]ive out of eight" clues on the walk-and-turn test; "two" out of "four" clues on the one-leg stand test; and exhibited clues of impairment, including swaying back and forth and inaccurately counting seconds, on the Romberg balance test. After a second breath test also produced a positive result, Officer Ray arrested defendant for DWI and transported him to the Buncombe County Detention Facility.
About ten minutes after arriving at the jail, Officer Ray brought defendant to a room containing three Intox ECIR-II machines, read him his implied-consent rights and furnished him a written copy of those rights pursuant to
That same night, on 8 March 2015, Officer Ray cited defendant for misdemeanor DWI and for unlawful failure to burn rear vehicle lamps.
See
Before trial in superior court, defendant moved to quash or dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction. He argued that because the State never dismissed the citation in district court, that charge remained valid and pending, and thus the superior court lacked authority to exercise its jurisdiction over the same offense and must dismiss the indictment. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-954(a)(6) (2017) (requiring a court to "dismiss the charges stated in a criminal pleading if it determines that[ ] ... [t]he defendant has previously been charged with the same offense in another North Carolina court of competent jurisdiction, and the criminal pleading charging the offense is still pending and valid"). The State argued it need not have dismissed the citation in the district court because the indictment superseded that charge and, further, that its records indicate there was no longer any charge against defendant pending in district court. The superior court denied the motion.
Defendant also filed three pretrial motions to suppress evidence. First, he moved to suppress all evidence on the grounds that Officer Ray lacked reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop. The superior court concluded in relevant part that reasonable suspicion existed based on Officer Ray observing the van without rear lamps illuminating the license plate in violation of
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Second, defendant moved to suppress all evidence based on the illegality of the roadside breath test. He argued Officer Ray (1) unlawfully compelled defendant to submit to the roadside breath test and thus the subsequent field sobriety tests results and later intoxilyzer test results constituted tainted fruit of the poisonous tree of that illegal roadside breath test search; (2) unlawfully prolonged the traffic stop because his "demand [for] a preliminary breath test constitute[d] a seizure beyond the scop[e] of the initial stop and without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity"; and (3) improperly relied upon the numerical results of *471 the roadside breath test in forming probable cause to arrest defendant for DWI and, therefore, that "the State [was] unable to meet its burden to demonstrate [Officer Ray] possessed objectively reasonable probable cause to arrest the defendant." The superior court concluded the roadside breath tests were unlawfully compelled and thus suppressed the positive-results evidence from those tests. However, it further concluded, even without that illegally obtained evidence, Officer Ray had probable cause to arrest defendant for DWI and thus declined to suppress any other evidence.
Third, defendant moved to suppress the intoxilyzer results on the grounds that Officer Ray failed to re-advise him of his implied-consent rights in violation of
At trial, defendant failed to object to the introduction of the field-sobriety-tests-results evidence or the intoxilyzer-results evidence, the superior court dismissed the failure to burn rear lamps infraction due to insufficiency of the indictment, and the jury found defendant guilty of DWI.
At sentencing, defendant objected to the use of a prior DWI conviction obtained against him in superior court on 15 September 2016 to support a finding of the existence of a grossly aggravating factor for the purpose of enhancing his sentence. He argued that because the prior conviction was currently pending on appeal, it was not "final" and thus did not qualify as a "prior conviction" under
II. Issues Presented
On appeal, defendant presents four issues. First, he argues the superior court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction because the same charge against him was still valid and pending in district court. Second, that the superior court erred by denying his motion to
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suppress all evidence arising from the traffic stop because it was obtained during an unlawful detention that occurred as a direct consequence of an illegal roadside breath test and thus was tainted fruit of that poisonous tree. Third, that the superior court erred by denying his motion to suppress the intoxilyzer results because it improperly concluded Officer Ray's request he provide another breath sample on a different intoxilyzer machine was not a request for a "subsequent chemical analysis" under
III. Motion to Dismiss Indictment for Lack of Jurisdiction
Defendant first asserts the superior court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the DWI indictment for lack of jurisdiction. He argues that because the State failed to dismiss the citation charging the same offense in district court, that charge remained valid and pending in district court, and thus the superior court was required to dismiss the indictment under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-954(a)(6). We disagree.
A. Review Standard
We review subject-matter jurisdiction challenges
de novo
.
State v. Rogers
, --- N.C. App. ----, ----,
B. Discussion
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-272(a) provides that "[e]xcept as provided in ... Article [22], the district court has exclusive, original jurisdiction for the trial of ... misdemeanors." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-272(a) (2017) ;
see also
State v. Felmet
,
Here, the 8 March 2015 misdemeanor DWI citation granted the district court authority to exercise its original jurisdiction over the charge.
See
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-272(a). However, after the 6 June 2016 presentment and later indictment, the superior court had authority to exercise its jurisdiction over the charge.
See
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-271(a)(2) ;
see also
Gunter
,
Nonetheless, defendant argues that because the State never dismissed the citation in district court, that charge remained pending and active, and thus the superior court was required to dismiss the indictment. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-954(a)(6) (requiring a superior court to "dismiss the charges stated in a criminal pleading if it determines that[ ] ... the defendant has previously been charged with the same offense in another North Carolina court of competent jurisdiction, and the criminal pleading charging the offense is still pending and valid ." (emphasis added) ). We disagree.
*462 *474 Here, in response to defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment in superior court, the State replied as follows:
[STATE]: ... [T]he matter that was left in District Court is simply superceded by this indictment. A simple search of our coding and our records indicates that the only pending matters in Buncombe County against [defendant] are the Superior Court matters. The District Court case-the matter that originated in District Court is simply no longer pending. This particular indictment super[s]eded that. ...
As a result of the fact that there's still no pending matter in District Court ... this sort of eliminates any idea of a competing claim, that the State is attempting to find him guilty or prosecute him in two separate courtrooms. The matter in District Court just simply isn't there any more. It's here now based on that indictment.
As reflected, although the State never filed a formal dismissal of the citation in district court, it made clear that it had abandoned its prosecution in district court to the exclusion of its superior court prosecution, which effectively served as the functional equivalent of a dismissal of the district court charge, rendering it no longer valid and pending.
See
State v. Cole
, No. 17-732, slip op. at 5-9,
Defendant also relies on
State v. Karbas
,
To the extent that the district and superior courts here shared concurrent jurisdiction over the misdemeanor DWI charge, that concurrent jurisdiction did not exist until the superior court indictment issued on 11 July 2016. Defendant points to no evidence suggesting that, after that time, the district court exercised jurisdiction over the offense. Indeed, in his 8 September 2016 motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction, defendant stated "[t]he citation issued in this mat[t]er remains active, although the case is not currently calendared in district court ." (Emphasis added.) As there is no record evidence suggesting the district court exercised its jurisdiction over the offense after the existence of concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court, Karbas 's language that the first court exercising jurisdiction over a shared offense is exclusive of the other court absent a dismissal terminating the first court's jurisdiction provides no support here. Accordingly, we overrule this argument.
In sum, because the charge was initiated by presentment, the superior court acquired jurisdiction over the offense after the indictment issued. Despite the State's failure to dismiss the citation in district court, it made clear it had abandoned its prosecution in district court, which served as the functional equivalent of a dismissal, rendering it no longer valid and pending, and once jeopardy attached to the indictment, the State would be precluded from later prosecuting the *463 charge in district court under double jeopardy principles. Further, no evidence suggests the district court exercised its jurisdiction over the offense once concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court existed. Therefore, we affirm the superior court's denial of defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction.
IV. Motions to Suppress Evidence
Defendant next argues the superior court erred by denying his motions to suppress the evidence discovered as a result of the traffic stop. First, he argues the results of the roadside sobriety tests and later intoxilyzer test should have been suppressed as tainted fruit of the poisonous tree of the illegal search and seizure arising from the unlawfully compelled roadside breath test. Second, he argues the intoxilyzer results should have been suppressed on the additional basis that the test was administered in violation of his implied-consent rights under
*476 A. Preservation
Defendant acknowledges that, although he filed pretrial motions to suppress this evidence on these grounds, he failed to object to the admission of that evidence at trial. Therefore, he argues that the superior court's admission of this evidence constituted plain error. N.C. R. App. P. 10(a)(4). Accordingly, we review these issues only for plain error.
See, e.g.
,
State v. Waring
,
For error to constitute plain error, a defendant must demonstrate that a fundamental error occurred at trial. To show that an error was fundamental, a defendant must establish prejudice-that, after examination of the entire record, the error had a probable impact on the jury's finding that the defendant was guilty.
State v. Lawrence
,
B. Review Standard
Our review of a suppression ruling is "strictly limited to determining whether the trial judge's underlying findings of fact are supported by competent evidence, in which event they are conclusively binding on appeal, and whether those factual findings in turn support the judge's ultimate conclusions of law."
State v. Cooke
,
C. Tainted Fruit
Defendant asserts the results of the roadside sobriety tests and intoxilyzer test should have been suppressed as tainted fruit of the poisonous tree of the illegal search and seizure caused by the unlawfully compelled roadside breath test. We disagree.
Initially, we note that although defendant in his written suppression motion and at the suppression hearing argued that,
inter alia
, all evidence discovered after the illegal roadside breath test should have been
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suppressed as tainted fruit of that poisonous tree, the superior court here did not directly address whether that evidence may have been acquired as a direct consequence of the illegal breath test, or whether Officer Ray was justified in prolonging the initial traffic stop to investigate defendant's potential impairment. Rather, the superior court concluded that reasonable suspicion existed to justify the initial traffic stop based primarily on defendant's license plate not being illuminated in violation of
"The 'fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine,' a specific application of the exclusionary rule, provides that '[w]hen evidence is obtained as the result of illegal police conduct, not only should that evidence be suppressed, but all evidence that is the "fruit" of that unlawful conduct should be suppressed.' "
State v. McKinney
,
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"To determine whether reasonable suspicion exists, courts must look at 'the totality of the circumstances' as 'viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer.' "
State v. Johnson
,
Here, the superior court rendered the following unchallenged findings to support its conclusion that Officer Ray had reasonable suspicion to justify the initial traffic stop: "[ (1) ] Defendant was coming out of a bar [ (2) ] after midnight and [ (3) ] ... weave[d] within his lane. He did not cross over the fog line but did several times ... swerve onto the fog line[.]" Additionally, the superior court rendered the following unchallenged findings to support its conclusion that, notwithstanding the roadside breath test results, Officer Ray had probable cause to arrest defendant for DWI:
[ (4) ] the driving of the Defendant, [ (5) ] the strong odor of alcohol, [ (6) ] the fact that the Defendant presented his debit card rather than his [driver's license], ... [ (7) ] [defendant] did admit to drinking alcohol, and [defendant's] performance on [ (8) ] the walk and turn test, [ (9) ] the HGN test, and [ (10) ] the Romberg balance test.
We conclude the superior court's findings that Officer Ray observed defendant (1) exit a bar (2) after midnight (3) and swerve several times within his driving lane, combined with its findings that after the initial traffic stop, the legality of which defendant does not challenge on appeal, (4) Officer Ray smelled a "strong odor of alcohol," (5) defendant present his debit card when asked for his driver's license, and (6) defendant initially denied but later admitted to drinking alcohol, were sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion to justify prolonging the initial traffic stop to investigate defendant's potential impairment, including administering the roadside sobriety tests. Those findings in conjunction with the findings on defendant's performance on the roadside sobriety tests in turn supported a conclusion that Officer Ray had probable cause to arrest defendant *465 for DWI, which justified the later intoxilyzer test. Therefore, the superior court properly refused to suppress the results of the roadside sobriety tests and the intoxilyzer test. Accordingly, we hold the superior court did not commit plain error by admitting this evidence at trial. *479 Defendant also argues that Officer Ray's testimony that "[i]f [defendant] tested low enough, [he] would [have] give[n defendant] a ride home" and "for the sake of the .08 standard, [he] was going to give [defendant] a ride home if he fell below that[,]" establishes that Officer Ray "lacked sufficient information to believe that ... defendant was appreciably impaired at the point where the alco-sensor test was administered." This argument fails because Officer Ray's
subjective opinion is not material. Nor are the courts bound by an officer's mistaken legal conclusion as to the existence or non-existence of probable cause or reasonable grounds for his actions. The search or seizure is valid when the objective facts known to the officer meet the standard required.
Bone
,
D. Statutory Implied-Consent Rights
Defendant next asserts the superior court erred by denying his motion to suppress the intoxilyzer results because it improperly concluded that Officer Ray was not required under
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We review the superior court's legal conclusions
de novo
.
Hughes
,
An officer must advise a person charged with DWI of his or her implied-consent rights before requesting that person to submit to a chemical analysis of the breath.
The plain and unambiguous language of
Nonetheless, defendant relies on
State v. Williams
,
V. "Prior Conviction" for Enhanced Sentence
Last, defendant asserts the superior court erred by sentencing him as a Level Two offender after finding the existence of a grossly aggravating
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factor based on upon his prior DWI conviction. Defendant was convicted in superior court of DWI on 15 September 2016. He appealed that conviction on 26 September 2016, which remained pending before this Court at the time of the instant 31 August 2017 sentencing hearing. Before the superior court and now on appeal, defendant argues his prior DWI conviction could not be used to enhance his sentence because the prior conviction, since it was pending on appeal, was not "final" and therefore could not be used as a "prior conviction" to find the existence of a grossly aggravating factor under
We review issues of statutory interpretation
de novo
.
Davis
,
Despite
Further, even if we found this statutory language ambiguous, we find support for our interpretation on the grounds that interpreting it otherwise would undermine the
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purpose behind enhancing a repeat DWI offender's sentence, as a person with a qualifying prior conviction appealed from superior court could be sentenced for a later conviction as though he or she had no prior conviction. Additionally, we note that if a person's sentence is enhanced based upon a prior DWI conviction that is later reversed on direct appeal, he or she is entitled to be resentenced at the proper offender level without that prior conviction.
See
State v. Bidgood
,
Therefore, the superior court properly concluded that defendant's prior DWI conviction, despite it being pending on appeal, constituted a "prior conviction" under
As a secondary matter, we note that this Court has since filed an opinion adjudicating defendant's appeal from his prior DWI conviction.
See
State v. Cole
, No. 17-732,
VI. Conclusion
The superior court properly denied defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction because that charge was no longer pending or valid in district court. The superior court properly refused to suppress the evidence obtained after the roadside breath test because its findings support a conclusion that, before that test, Officer Ray had objective reasonable suspicion to justify prolonging the initial traffic stop to investigate defendant's potential impairment. The superior court also properly refused to suppress the intoxilyzer results because
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it properly concluded that Officer Ray's request that defendant provide another sample for the same breath test on a different machine was not a request for a "subsequent chemical analysis" triggering
NO ERROR.
Chief Judge McGEE and Judge ARROWOOD concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.