Hardin v. Commonwealth
| Decision Date | 25 March 2016 |
| Docket Number | NO. 2015–CA–000034–MR,2015–CA–000034–MR |
| Citation | 491 S.W.3d 514 |
| Parties | Christopher T. Hardin, Appellant, v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Appellee. |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
Brief for Appellant: Ryan Bennett Driskill, Greenville, Kentucky.
Brief for Appellee: Jack Conway, Attorney General of Kentucky, James C. Shackelford, Assistant Attorney General, Frankfort, Kentucky.
BEFORE: ACREE, CHIEF JUDGE; J. LAMBERT AND TAYLOR, JUDGES.
J. LAMBERT
, JUDGE:
Christopher Hardin pleaded guilty to the charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence, fourth-offense, a Class “D” felony, in violation of Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 189A.010
, but he preserved his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized during his arrest. After careful review, we affirm the trial court's order denying Hardin relief.
On August 20, 2014, Muhlenberg County Deputy Sheriff Alex Piper (Deputy Piper) was on routine patrol in the vicinity of Drakesboro, Kentucky. While traveling on State Route 176 East at approximately 5:45 p.m., Deputy Piper observed an ATV sitting about three feet off the highway near a gated entrance to property owned by Peabody Coal Company. The ATV (which was being operated by an individual Deputy Piper later discovered to be the Appellant, Hardin) was facing the highway. Because there were no other roads or driveways on the side of the highway opposite the ATV, Deputy Piper did not believe Hardin was simply crossing the roadway.
Deputy Piper went over to advise Hardin that he should not be on the highway with an ATV and to see if he had permission to be on the coal company property that was immediately behind him at that time. Deputy Piper observed a gate behind Hardin and did not think ATVs were allowed on the property. As the deputy approached Hardin in his cruiser, he turned on his lights, got out of the vehicle, and began to walk toward Hardin. As he neared Hardin, he smelled alcohol. Deputy Piper asked if Hardin had been riding on the highway, and he said he had not. Deputy Piper then asked if he had been drinking alcohol, to which Hardin stated that he had drunk two beers earlier that day.
Deputy Piper noted that Hardin had slurred speech and that his eyes were glassy, so he asked him to submit to a preliminary breath test, which showed alcohol present in Hardin's system. After the preliminary breath test, Deputy Piper, certified in giving field sobriety tests, gave Hardin three tests to see if he was intoxicated. Hardin failed the first two tests, which consisted of the horizontal gaze nystagums test and the walk-and-turn test, which showed that he was above the .08 limit of intoxication. Hardin did not fail the one leg test. Hardin was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and taken to Muhlenberg Community Hospital for a blood test, at which time Deputy Piper read Hardin the implied consent notice.
After the blood test, Deputy Piper took Hardin back to the county jail and again read the implied consent notice to him at 6:27 p.m. At this point, Hardin stated that he wanted an independent blood test and advised that he could pay for the test. Deputy Piper then contacted his supervisor, Deputy Terry Vick, who was working an investigation, and discussed possible alternate sites where the independent test could be conducted. Deputy Piper spoke with Deputy Vick about transporting Hardin to a hospital in Madisonville, about thirty minutes away.
At the time Hardin made his request, there were only two other members of the sheriff's department on duty, including Deputy Vick, who was conducting an investigation in another area of Muhlenberg County. The other deputy on duty had to transport a local inmate to another county. In any event, Deputy Vick decided that it would take too much time to travel to Madisonville for the test; instead Deputy Piper informed Hardin that he could have another independent test administered at Muhlenberg Community Hospital. Hardin, believing this would in essence be a duplicate of the test he submitted to earlier, decided to forego the independent test. At no time did Hardin name a specific facility or person he would like to conduct the test. According to Deputy Piper, Hardin just stated that he wanted the test to occur “somewhere else.”
Hardin initially entered a not-guilty plea and filed a motion to suppress the blood test against him on the ground that he requested an independent blood test, but the officer refused to escort him to a facility for administration of such independent testing. He also argued that his initial stop was unlawful and that any evidence obtained therein should be suppressed. After a suppression hearing where the above evidence and testimony was presented, the trial court denied Hardin's motion to suppress. On December 8, 2014, Hardin entered a plea of guilty, conditioned upon his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress all evidence seized against him as a result of the traffic stop on the grounds that the warrantless search and seizure of Hardin was unreasonable and unlawful. This appeal now follows.
On appeal, Hardin argues that his constitutional rights were violated when police seized him on the side of the road without reasonable suspicion. Hardin also claims that Deputy Piper's failure to provide him with an independent blood test pursuant to KRS 189A.103(7)
mandates the suppression of the blood test.
Appellate review of a trial court's decision on a motion to suppress requires application of a two-step analysis. Goncalves v. Commonwealth, 404 S.W.3d 180, 189 (Ky.2013)
. First, it must be determined whether the trial court's findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence. Id. (Citations omitted). The Court then conducts a de novo review of the trial court's application of the law to the established facts to determine whether its ruling was correct as a matter of law. Id. (Citations omitted).
Regarding Hardin's first argument that the search and seizure was invalid and thus his constitutional rights were violated, we agree with the trial court that Deputy Piper had reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot to justify a stop of Hardin. The trial court's findings of fact in this regard are supported by substantial evidence. First, Deputy Piper observed Hardin sitting very close to a highway on an ATV. There were no other roads across from Hardin which would support an argument that he was simply just going to cross the highway onto another private road. Furthermore, Hardin was on private gated property, which Deputy Piper knew did not allow ATVs. Thus, Deputy Piper had a reasonable basis to believe that Hardin was about to drive an ATV on a highway and had been trespassing on private property. Given all of these facts, it was reasonable for Deputy Piper to conclude that criminal activity was afoot and thus a stop was warranted. Furthermore, as Deputy Piper was talking to Hardin, he smelled alcohol, and thus was justified in investigating further. Any evidence regarding Hardin's intoxication that was...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Herp v. Commonwealth
-
Story v. Commonwealth
...sample. The police are required to make a "reasonable 4 effort to facilitate additional testing" for the driver. Hardin v. Commonwealth, 491 S.W.3d 514, 519 (Ky. App. 2016). It is not the duty of the police officer to test the blood, only to help in the administration of the test (i.e., blo......
-
Ward v. Commonwealth
...to the trial court and therefore is not now properly before us. The courts below as well as the parties have cited Hardin v. Commonwealth, 491 S.W.3d 514 (Ky. App. 2016), and Commonwealth v. Long, 118 S.W.3d 178 (Ky. App. 2003). Although KRS 189A.105 was mentioned in the Hardin and the Long......