State v. Draper, Unpublished Decision (3-31-2003)
State v. Draper, Unpublished Decision (3-31-2003)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Laverne L. Draper appeals from her August 26, 2002, conviction on one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, in violation of R.C.{¶ 3} The patrolman awakened appellant. As appellant stepped out of the car, the patrolman observed that appellant had urinated on herself. Appellant admitted to the patrolman that she had driven the vehicle from a bar and had parked the car in front of her residence earlier, where it was found by the patrolman. The patrolman administered standardized field sobriety tests on appellant. The patrolman found that she performed poorly on the tests and placed appellant under arrest for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Appellant submitted to a breathalyzer test which returned a BAC result of 0.109 percent.
{¶ 4} Appellant was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 5} It is from the August 26, 2002, conviction that appellant appeals, raising the following assignment of error:
{¶ 6} "The Trial Court Erred In Denying Appellant's Motion To Suppress And Finding That She Operated A Motor Vehicle In Violation Of O.R.C.
{¶ 7} There are three methods of challenging on appeal a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress. First, an appellant may challenge the trial court's findings of fact. In reviewing a challenge of this nature, an appellate court must determine whether said findings of fact are against the manifest weight of the evidence. See, State v. Fanning
(1982),
{¶ 8} In essence, appellant argues that the trial court erred when it found that the arresting officer had probable cause to believe appellant had "operated" the automobile while under the influence of alcohol, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 9} The Ohio Supreme Court recently addressed probable cause as it relates to an arrest for a violation of R.C.
{¶ 10} We understand appellant's first argument to be that the trial court erred in finding that the officer had probable cause to believe appellant was "operating" a motor vehicle when appellant was sleeping in an automobile with the keys on the floor, under the steering column. However, in State v. Cleary (1986),
{¶ 11} In this case, appellant was found sitting in her vehicle, in the driver's seat, with the keys on the floor mat, directly below the steering column. We find that the keys were sufficiently within her possession to constitute probable cause that she was operating the motor vehicle, as defined by the Ohio Supreme Court in State v. Cleary, supra.
{¶ 12} Appellant further argues that the trial court erred in finding probable cause because the videotape of the arrest does not support the arresting officer's testimony describing appellant's condition. Specifically, appellant argues that the videotape does not demonstrate that appellant was "belching, insulting and swaying" or that appellant's speech was unreasonably slurred, as claimed by the officer.
{¶ 13} As stated previously, probable cause exists when, at the moment of arrest, the police have sufficient information, derived from a reasonably trustworthy source of facts and circumstances, to cause a prudent person to believe that the suspect was operating the motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Homan, supra. Upon review of the record, including the videotape of the arrest and testimony of the arresting officer, we find that there was probable cause to find appellant was under the influence of alcohol. The arresting officer testified that appellant had a heavy odor of alcohol on her breath and red eyes. Appellant had urinated on herself. Further, appellant admitted consuming alcohol and driving home from a bar. A review of the videotape unquestioningly reveals that the motor vehicle was parked at an angle, partially on the street and partially on the sidewalk, that appellant was uncooperative and that appellant required multiple explanations of the field sobriety test instructions and then failed to follow those instructions.
{¶ 14} Those indications of intoxication, in conjunction with our finding that there was probable cause that appellant "operated" a motor vehicle, were sufficient to establish probable cause to arrest appellant for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, the trial court properly denied appellant's motion to suppress.
{¶ 15} Appellant's sole assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 16} The judgment of the Alliance Municipal Court is affirmed.
Hoffman, P.J. and Boggins, J. concurs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.