The People v. KEITH J. PAGE
| Decision Date | 06 July 2010 |
| Docket Number | TA090349,No. KA078896,B211445,KA078896 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. KEITH J. PAGE, Defendant and Appellant. |
Joseph T. Tavano, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Mary Sanchez and Michael J. Wise, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. George Genesta, Judge. Affirmed.
Appellant Keith J. Page (Page) appeals his convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (a)), possession of a controlled substance (Health & Saf. Code, § 11377, subd. (a)), and driving on a suspended or revoked license (Veh. Code, § 14601.2, subd. (a)). He raises the following arguments on appeal: (1) the trial court erred in admitting Page's pre-arrest and post-arrest statements to law enforcement; (2) the evidence was insufficient to support Page's convictions for driving under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance; (3) the trial court may have abused its discretion in determining there was no discoverable material in the arresting officer's personnel file; and (4) the trial court improperly calculated certain penalty assessments at sentencing. We affirm.
On March 23, 2007, at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department was called to the scene of a solo car accident on the 105 Freeway. When firefighter paramedic Matthew Heard arrived with his unit, he observed Page walking away from the accident scene. Page was walking erratically, moving in a weaving manner on the carpool lane of the freeway. Heard and three other firefighters approached Page to assess whether he needed medical attention, but Page was uncooperative and did not answer any of their questions. Page was also combative, flailing his arms and legs around in an attempt to get away. Concerned Page might run into oncoming traffic, Heard and three or four other firefighters forcibly restrained him, and held him to the ground until he could be safely strapped onto an ambulance gurney. The ambulance transported Page to Martin Luther King Hospital.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Jacques Morlet responded to the scene of the accident at 4:50 p.m. He observed a fire truck and ambulance blocking the carpool lane of the freeway, and an unoccupied Ford Thunderbird parked on the shoulder of the freeway. Officer Morlet was advised that the car had been moved by other CHP officers prior to his arrival. The paramedics also explained that they were transporting a personbelieved to be the driver of the car to the hospital for further evaluation. Officer Morlet never saw Page at the accident scene.
While at the scene, Officer Morlet observed that the Ford Thunderbird had damage along the left bumper and headlight assembly, including scrapes consistent with the car hitting a cement wall. Upon further investigation, Officer Morlet determined that the area of impact was the center median of the freeway. In an inventory search of the car, officers recovered a small amber-colored vial from the center console. A chemical analysis later confirmed that the vial contained.2 milliliters of liquid phencyclidine (PCP). Officers also found a Visine eyedropper bottle in the center console and an open can of beer in the backseat. After running a license plate check, Officer Morlet learned that Page was the registered owner of the car.
Officer Morlet and his field training officer arrived at Martin Luther King Hospital at approximately 5:15 p.m. Upon his arrival, Officer Morlet saw Page lying in a hospital gurney in the hallway of the emergency room. His torso, wrists, and ankles were in restraints. Hospital staff members were attempting to secure the restraints as Page resisted and struggled to remove them. Officer Morlet noted that Page was acting in a very combative and aggressive manner, and that these symptoms were consistent with a person under the influence of PCP. Because Page was resisting the hospital staff, Officer Morlet and his partner assisted them in restraining Page by grabbing his wrists as staff members secured the gurney straps. Officer Morlet did not assist in restraining Page in any other way. Once he approached Page, Officer Morlet smelled a strong chemical odor coming from his breath and body. Page's eyes were bloodshot and watery, and his face was red and sunburned, but he appeared to be alert.
Officer Morlet began conducting an investigation to determine if Page had been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. During his preliminary questioning, he noticed that Page's speech was mumbled and slurred. Officer Morlet asked Page if he had anything to drink and Page admitted that he had two 16-ounze beers at 3:00 in the afternoon. Officer Morlet also inquired whether Page had been driving the car that was found on the freeway, and Page acknowledged that he was driving the car and washeaded to Las Vegas. In response to Officer Morlet's questions about his medical history, Page reported that he did not have any injuries, illnesses, or impairments, had not undergone any recent surgeries, and was not currently under a doctor's care.
Officer Morlet asked Page if the vial found in the car contained PCP. Page answered, "Yes." Officer Morlet then asked if Page had used the PCP, and Page admitted he had used it at 3:00 p.m. When questioned about the accident, Page told Officer Morlet that he was driving to Las Vegas and thought he may have fallen asleep when his car hit the freeway barrier. Page did not know where he was on the freeway when the accident occurred and did not know why he was in the hospital. He denied having car problems prior to the accident. While being questioned by Officer Morlet, Page continued to behave in a combative manner and at times tried to remove the restraints.
Due to the restraints, Officer Morlet was limited in the field sobriety tests that he could conduct at the hospital. He was able to administer the horizontal and vertical gaze nystagmus tests, which are designed to detect involuntary eye movement associated with PCP use. He also gave Page a breathalyzer test with a hand-held preliminary alcohol screening device. The result of the breathalyzer test was negative for alcohol. However, in each of the nystagmus tests, Page demonstrated a distinct and sustained jerking of the eyes.
Following the field sobriety tests, Officer Morlet formed the opinion that Page had been driving under the influence of PCP. He based his opinion on the results of the nystagmus tests, Page's objective symptoms of PCP use, Page's admissions that he had been driving the car, and the vial of PCP found in the car. Based on his observations at the accident scene, Officer Morlet also believed that Page had made an unsafe driving maneuver which caused his car to crash into the median. Officer Morlet placed Page under arrest at 5:54 p.m., and advised Page of his Miranda1rights at 6:10 p.m. Pageagreed to waive his Miranda rights at that time. Officer Morlet then turned the investigation over to CHP Officer Ryan Carroll, a drug recognition expert who was called to the hospital to conduct a drug evaluation of Page.
Officer Carroll was certified in detecting persons under the influence of controlled substances, including PCP. At trial, Officer Carroll described PCP as a dissociative anesthetic which can give the user an out-of-body feeling and cause him or her to feel resistant to physical pain. He explained that the effects of PCP typically last from four to six hours, depending upon the amount of drug used and the tolerance of the person using it. When asked how PCP can affect the ability to drive, Officer Carroll answered, Prior to examining Page, Officer Carroll had observed four or five evaluations of persons under the influence of PCP. Page was the first or second PCP evaluation that Officer Carroll personally conducted.
Officer Carroll began his evaluation of Page at 6:25 p.m. in a curtained area of the emergency room. He initially asked general health questions. In his answers, Page indicated that he did not have any physical impairments and was not taking any medications. He denied that he had high blood pressure or had suffered any serious head injuries. During his evaluation, Officer Carroll observed that Page's eyes were red, bloodshot, and watery. He also noticed that Page was perspiring and had a chemical odor associated with PCP on his breath and body. Officer Carroll described Page's behavior as cyclical. At times, Page would be cooperative and calmly answer questions, and then would suddenly become combative, resist the restraints, and speak incoherently. Page also had some repetitive and non-responsive speech. Officer Carroll believed that Page's objective symptoms were consistent with a person under the influence of PCP.
Officer Carroll could only conduct a limited evaluation of Page because he did not feel Page could be safely released from the restraints for more extensive testing. As part of his evaluation, Officer Carroll was able to administer the horizontal and vertical gaze nystagmus tests. Page's eyes showed a...
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