People v. Brcic

• Decision Date: 14 July 2022
• Docket Number: 359497
• Parties: PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STEVEN RUSSELL BRCIC, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
STEVEN RUSSELL BRCIC, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 359497

Court of Appeals of Michigan

July 14, 2022

Cheboygan Circuit Court LC No. 20-006006-FH

Before: GLEICHER, C.J., and GADOLA and YATES, JJ.

YATES, J.

On July 14, 2020, a bizarre chain of events led Defendant, Steven Brcic, to take refuge in the Indian River and refuse commands from law enforcement officers to get out of the water. In his wake, defendant left an overturned Chevy Tahoe sitting on its passenger's side in the middle of Prospect Street and three young witnesses who helped the police track down defendant. The officers who used a boat to extract defendant from the river observed that defendant exhibited the telltale signs of intoxication, so they obtained a search warrant for a blood draw. But the warrant simply authorized a "blood draw" at the "Cheboygan County Jail." Because the search warrant failed to identify the jail inmate whose blood should be drawn, the trial court declared the warrant defective and suppressed the fruits of the search, i.e., the blood taken from defendant. We granted the prosecution's application for leave to pursue an interlocutory appeal, and we now affirm the trial court's order of suppression.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The salient facts are set forth in the affidavit submitted in support of the application for a search warrant:

On Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at 2000 hrs., Ofc. Chamberlain and I (Ofc. Myerson) were dispatched to car accident [sic] on Prospect St., towards Columbus Beach. Upon arrival, I observed a silver Tahoe, on it's [sic] passenger side. I did not observe anyone in or near the vehicle. Three juveniles walked up to us on scene and said a male in his 30-40's wearing a green and tan baseball hat [was] driving a silver SUV westbound on Prospect St. The driver later identified as Steven Russell

1

Brcic, swerved toward the juveniles. They said he was the only occupant and he yelled, "asshole" as he swerved back into the lane. Seconds later they heard the crash. While on scene, Ofc. Chamberlain ordered Brcic to stop, however Brcic jumped into the river and refused to exit. Brcic had large and fixed pupils, bloodshot and glassy eyes and spoke with very slurred speech. While following Brcic down the river, the juveniles positively identified Brcic. Deputies Simmons and Supernault obtained the CCSD patrol boat and eventually pulled Brcic out and he was handcuffed. Open and half full 24 ounce beer can was found inside the vehicle. Brcic refused to perform field sobriety tasks. Brcic had very poor balance and had a very strong odor of alcoholic based beverage coming from his breath and person

Officer Janet Myerson indicated on the affidavit form that she personally observed defendant and believed he operated the vehicle "[w]hile under the influence of or impaired by alcoholic liquor." That conclusion was buttressed by a wealth of information, and defendant seems to recognize that the affidavit supplied probable cause to support Officer Myerson's assertion.

The affidavit prompted the issuance of a search warrant for a "blood sample," but the search warrant merely described "[t]he person, place or thing to be searched" as the "Cheboygan County Jail." Beyond that, the search warrant provided no guidance about whose blood should be drawn. In its entirety, the search warrant issued at 2:17 a.m. on July 15, 2020, stated that probable cause for a search existed, but offered no specificity other than a directive to execute the warrant at the Cheboygan County Jail. The search warrant reproduced below readily reveals the flaw that led to suppression of the blood drawn from defendant:

IMAGE OMITTED

2

In the wee hours of July 15, 2020, a law enforcement officer executed the search warrant and obtained two vials of blood from defendant. The "Return and Tabulation" section indicated that defendant received a copy of the affidavit, warrant, and tabulation. The...