Reid v. State, Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-CR-493

CourtCourt of Appeals of Indiana
Citation113 N.E.3d 290
Docket NumberCourt of Appeals Case No. 18A-CR-493
Parties Ashley REID, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
Decision Date16 November 2018

Attorney for Appellant: Heather M. Schuh-Ogle, Thomasson, Thomasson, Long & Guthrie, P.C., Columbus, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee: Curtis T. Hill, Jr., Attorney General of Indiana, James B. Martin, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana

Brown, Judge.

[1] In this interlocutory appeal, Ashley Reid appeals the trial court's order denying her motion to suppress evidence. Reid raises two issues which we consolidate and restate as whether the trial court erred in denying her motion to suppress. We affirm and remand for further proceedings.1

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On February 15, 2017, the State charged Reid with: Count I, operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person as a class A misdemeanor; and Count II, operating a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more as a class A misdemeanor.

[3] On October 30, 2017, Reid filed a motion to suppress all oral and written communications, confessions, statements, or admissions alleged to have been made by her, as well as any test results arising from a July 29, 2016 incident. It stated in part that Officer James Paris of the Columbus Police Department responded to a report of a possible intoxicated driver at a West Ridge residence, that "[u]pon arriving, Officer Paris immediately began questioning Ms. Reid and giving her directives" and "subjected her to coercive and accusatory questioning," and that, without Reid's statements, he "lacked probable cause to request field sobriety tests, a chemical test, or a warrant for a blood draw." Appellant's Appendix Volume II at 34. It also stated:

There was little to no elapsed time between the unlawful search and seizure and the acquisition of the evidence, and there were no intervening circumstances. After questioning [Reid] with no advisement of her Miranda rights, Officer Paris immediately ordered [Reid] to perform field sobriety tests, and immediately following those, read her the "implied consent" law. When she declined, he immediately requested a warrant.

Id. at 35.

[4] On December 4, 2017, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the motion, at which it heard the testimony of Officer Paris and admitted and played, as State's Exhibit 1, his body camera recording from the July 29, 2016 incident. Officer Paris testified that he was dispatched at 2:09 a.m. "as a possible intoxicated driver or disturbed (garbled)," and that:

I can't remember exact terminology dispatch used. A caller, a Stanley Reid, stated that he had heard a loud noise outside his residence, looked outside and saw his wife, [Reid], staggering in the driveway. Dispatch relayed that he wasn't sure what the noise was but believed she struck something with her vehicle.[2 ]

Transcript at 5-6. He stated that he proceeded to the scene without his lights or sirens activated, and saw two women in the driveway along with a vehicle with damage to the rear passenger-side bumper and a flat front passenger-side tire with its rubber "shredded around the wheel." Id. at 8. He testified that one of the individuals identified herself as Reid3 and that he "[i]mmediately noticed that she was intoxicated. She was unsteady on her feet, had blood shot [sic] eyes, [and] had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage about her person," which "became stronger as she spoke ...." Id. at 6-7. His body camera recording indicates that he made contact with the two women, that they stated "that was not us" when he informed them of a "call of a possible traffic accident up here ... a vehicle struck another vehicle," and that, after Reid identified herself, she answered affirmatively when asked "is this your vehicle" and "did you just get home." State's Exhibit 1 at 0:01-0:13, 0:23-0:31.

[5] When questioned about his subsequent conversation with Reid, Officer Paris stated:

I had her step to the rear of the vehicle where the damage was so I could speak to her and then reference the damage.[4 ] Inquired what she had struck with the vehicle, an open ended what did you hit I believe was the question. She denied having struck anything. I referenced the damage. She said it was old damage that it happened at Walmart and that it did not happen, that it had been there for some time.

Transcript at 8. He indicated that he did not believe Reid's explanation and stated "it's a plastic type bumper and there was a hole in it, it was cracked, dented in, and it appeared to be extremely fresh. It was clean, no dust or dirt on it." Id. at 7. He stated "[o]h yes absolutely I can" when asked if, based on his experience, he was confident in his ability to look "at damage to tell if it's fresh or old ...." Id. When asked if Reid had stated she had driven the vehicle, Officer Paris answered affirmatively and testified:

After we had a discussion about the damage on the rear bumper ... I had her kind of step around to the side and pointed out the damage to the tire and I said how did this happen? Oh that did happen tonight I struck a curb. She said struck a curb either at or near Circle K and that was my first indication that she had been the operator of the vehicle when she said I struck a curb.

Id. at 9.

[6] Regarding the damage, the body camera recording reveals the following conversation between Reid and Officer Paris:

Reid: It's been there.
Officer Paris: That's been there? No ma'am. That's some brand-new damage right there.
* * * * *
Officer Paris: I've done this job for a long time –
Reid: That's fine.
Officer Paris: Okay, and I know when I'm being lied to.
Reid: Okay.
Officer Paris: Okay. I'm being lied to. This vehicle has struck something.
Reid: No, that's been like that.
Officer Paris: And this vehicle has struck something recently. Okay. Where have you been tonight?
Reid: Went uptown.
Officer Paris: Uptown? Uptown Columbus?
Reid: To the Circle-K and then I went to the bar .... Yeah, but I didn't hit anything.
Officer Paris: When did that accident happen?
Reid: Sir, this happened –
Officer Paris: When did it happen?
Reid: – a while back.
Officer Paris: Okay. What's a while back?
Reid: About a month ago.
Officer Paris: About a month ago, okay. Was it reported?
Reid: I don't think so.
Officer Paris: You don't think so?
Reid: No. I don't – I didn't.
Officer Paris: I'm getting a whole lot of I don't think so's and –
Reid: That's fine.
Officer Paris: No, it's not fine. It's – it's impeding my investigation, okay.
Reid: Okay. That's been like that. And I didn't – it happened at Wal-Mart after I got off work.

State's Exhibit 1 at 1:11-2:49. After some conversation in which Officer Paris indicated that he had received a "call of a possible traffic accident," Reid asked "where," he responded "here," she stated, "no I didn't do anything, sir," he inquired "did you just drive this vehicle here," and the following exchange occurred:

Reid: I drove it here and drove into the driveway.
Officer Paris: Okay.
Reid: Yeah. I did not lie.
Officer Paris: How long ago did the damage happen to your front tire?
Reid: It's been about – the front damage? I drove like that here. It happened earlier this evening.
Officer Paris: Oh, that happened earlier this evening –
Reid: Yeah, that did, yes, and I'm not going to lie about that.
Officer Paris: Where did that happen at?
Reid: That happened earlier.
Officer Paris: Where did that happen at?
Reid: Circle-K.
* * * *Officer Paris: So if I go and have them pull video tape it will show you hitting something over there?
Reid: Probably a median. And then I left it and I asked for help.
* * * *
Reid: The median earlier and I came home on that tire. Yes.

Id. at 3:02-4:42. The body camera recording also reveals that Reid answered "about half an hour ago" when asked "how long ago did you get here," and "not since I've been home sir" when asked "have you consumed any alcohol[ic] beverages since you've been home," at which point Officer Paris asked Reid to leave the driveway and step in front of his patrol vehicle. Id. at 5:10-5:30.

[7] Officer Paris further testified that he proceeded to perform standardized field sobriety testing and Reid failed three separate tests, that "he read her Indiana Implied Consent" after she "tested a .169 on a portable breath test," and that she refused to submit to a chemical test. Transcript at 10-11. He testified that he placed her in handcuffs and transported her to Columbus Regional Hospital, and that he then filed for a search warrant which was granted. When asked to estimate how long the interaction lasted, "from the time you arrived at the residence to the time she refuses the chemical test," he responded "[u]ntil she actually refused the test probably no more than ten (10) minutes, twelve (12) minutes maybe."5 Id. at 11.

[8] During cross-examination, in response to whether Reid was free to leave during his questioning of her, Officer Paris testified:

It was an investigatory stop up to the point that she had admitted that she was driving the vehicle and it was obvious to me that she was intoxicated, if she would have walked away, frustrating as it would have been, she would have been free to walk away, yes[.]

Id. at 14. When asked if Reid was free to leave "before or after you explained ... that her saying that I don't know or I don't think so was impeding your investigation," Officer Paris stated in part:

[W]hen I had developed that or had determined that she had driven the vehicle she made [sic] privy [sic] made the statement that she drove to the residence and that she drove the vehicle during when she had damaged the tire it was at that point that I would say that she was not free to go.

Id. at 15.

[9] During recross-examination, Reid's counsel asked "[s]o there's no actual time frame given for when it happened, isn't that true, earlier could be a variety of things," the prosecutor objected, and the following exchange occurred:

[Prosecutor]: I don't see what this has to do with the question here is whether [Reid] was in
...

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  • Wahl v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • May 12, 2020
    ...an individual the police suspect of a crime does not inherently render the questioning custodial interrogation. Reid v. State , 113 N.E.3d 290, 300 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018), trans. denied . Courts look to the "totality of the circumstances" to determine whether a person was in custody. Brown , ......
  • State v. O.E.W., Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-JV-2409
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    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • August 19, 2019
    ...could reasonably believe that he has the right to interrupt prolonged questioning by leaving the scene. Id. ; accord Reid v. State , 113 N.E.3d 290, 300 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018), trans. denied ; Gauvin v. State , 878 N.E.2d 515, 521 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007), trans. denied ; see also Ruiz , 123 N.E.......
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    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • July 11, 2019
    ...an individual the police suspect of a crime does not inherently render the questioning custodial interrogation. Reid v. State , 113 N.E.3d 290, 300 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018), trans. denied . Courts look to the "totality of the circumstances" to determine whether a person was in custody. Brown , ......
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    • April 25, 2022
    ...that is, an officer must be able to point to specific facts giving rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Reid v. State, 113 N.E.3d 290, 298 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018), trans. denied.[10] Here, Officer Grant testified that he observed Lampley commit a traffic infraction—i.e. , havin......

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