FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
GILDA W. CURRIER JEFFREY A. MODISETT
Holt Fleck & Free Attorney General of Indiana
Noblesville, Indiana
RANDI E. FROUG
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
JEFFREY WEAVER, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 29A04-9804-CR-197
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
he spoke to the two passengers in the vehicle, Officer Schaffer observed a brown paper sack
containing five unopened cans of beer. The other officer asked Weaver to produce his
driver's license and registration. As Weaver reached into the glove compartment to retrieve
the vehicle registration, both officers noticed a box of ammunition in the glove compartment
and immediately ordered Weaver and his two passengers to keep their hands visible and to
exit the vehicle.
When Weaver exited the vehicle, Officer Schaffer detected that Weaver smelled
strongly of alcohol. Officer Schaffer also noticed that Weaver's eyes were bloodshot and that
his speech was slurred and difficult to understand. Weaver admitted to the officers that he
had consumed three to four beers that evening. Without objection, Officer Schaffer testified
that he proceeded to perform a horizontal gaze nystagmus sobriety test to determine the
probability of Weaver's blood alcohol content being above .10 percent. The results of the
nystagmus test indicated a more than 77 percent probability that Weaver's blood alcohol
content was .10 percent or above. Weaver also failed to successfully complete a field
sobriety test which involved counting backwards. When later asked to take an Intoxilyzer
5000® breath test, Weaver failed three times to provide a sufficient breath sample to obtain
an accurate reading. Weaver was then placed under arrest.
from a class A misdemeanor to a class D felonySee footnote
1
and, (2) enhanced his term of imprisonment
based upon a finding that he is an habitual substance offender. We disagree.
Weaver cites to Freeman v. State, 658 N.E.2d 68 (Ind 1995) and Devore v. State, 657
N.E.2d 740 (Ind. 1995) in support of his argument that the double enhancement of his
sentence is prohibited under Indiana law. In Freeman, our supreme court held that a
defendant could not be subjected to punishment pursuant to both Indiana Code Section 9-30-
5-3 (operating while intoxicated as a class D felony) and Indiana Code Section 35-50-2-10
(habitual substance offender). Based upon rules of statutory construction, the Freeman court
concluded that Indiana Code Section 9-30-5-3 was the more specific statute and, thus, it was
the only enhanced punishment to which a defendant may be subjected. Id. at 71; see State
v. Wynne, 699 N.E.2d 717, 719 n. 4 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998). Similarly, in the companion case
of Devore, our supreme court reiterated that chapter 9-30-5 is a definite and specific statute
which supersedes the general habitual substance offender statute. Devore, 657 N.E.2d at
742. Accordingly, "[i]n the absence of clear legislative language to the contrary, such double
enhancement cannot be permitted." Id.
However, in Weida v. State, 693 N.E.2d 598 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied, this
court recently noted that both Freeman and Devore were decided in 1995 and were based
upon a version of Indiana Code Section 35-50-2-10 which has since been amended.
Specifically, in 1996, "the Indiana General Assembly amended the statutory definition of
substance offense by adding the language: 'The term includes an offense under IC 9-30-5 .
. ..'" Id. at 601 (quoting Pub.L. No. 97-1996, § 5 and Pub.L. No. 96-1996, § 8). We held in
Weida that the addition of such language by the General Assembly is the clear legislative
language which our supreme court found lacking in Freeman and Devore. Id.See footnote
2
Thus, we
concluded that both the enhancement of Weida's sentence for operating while intoxicated to
a class D felony and the habitual substance offender sentence enhancement were proper
given the statutory amendment.
Weaver acknowledges our recent precedent but nevertheless urges us to adopt the
reasoning of Judge Sullivan's dissenting opinion in Weida in which he disagreed as to the
import of the 1996 amendment to the habitual substance offender statute. Id. (Sullivan, J.
dissenting) at 602. We decline Weaver's invitation and follow the majority opinion.
Pursuant to our holding in Weida, Weaver was properly convicted of both operating a vehicle
while intoxicated, as a class D felony and of being an habitual substance offender.
most favorable to the verdict together with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.
Id. A conviction will be affirmed if the probative evidence and reasonable inferences to be
drawn from the evidence could have allowed a reasonable trier of fact to find the defendant
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Wooden v. State, 657 N.E.2d 109, 111 (Ind. 1995).
Weaver argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for operating
while intoxicated because the State failed to prove that he was "intoxicated." Indiana Code
Section 9-13-2-86 defines "intoxicated" as "under the influence of (1) alcohol . . . so that
there is an impaired condition of thought and action and the loss of normal control of a
person's faculties to an extent that endangers a person." The element of endangerment is
proved by evidence that the defendant's condition or manner of operating the vehicle could
have endangered any person, including the public, the police, or the defendant. Blinn v.
State, 677 N.E.2d 51, 54 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). Thus, "proof that the defendant's condition
rendered operation of the vehicle unsafe is sufficient to establish endangerment." Kremer
v. State, 643 N.E.2d 357, 360 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994).
Contrary to Weaver's argument, the State presented sufficient evidence that he was
impaired to an extent that endangered himself or others. The record shows that Officer
Schaffer observed Weaver drive out of a parking lot without his headlights on at
approximately 2:00 a.m. Officer Schaffer observed Weaver's truck veer onto the center
double yellow line with its front and rear left tires. Although Weaver had just passed a sign
which posted the speed limit at 30 miles per hour, Officer Schaffer determined by radar that
Weaver was traveling at 51 miles per hour. There was alcohol found in the vehicle and
Weaver admitted that he had consumed three to four beers earlier in the evening. Officer
Schaffer noticed that Weaver smelled strongly of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and his
speech was slurred and difficult to understand. Officer Schaffer performed a horizontal gaze
nystagmus sobriety test to determine the probability of Weaver's blood alcohol content being
above .10 percent. Weaver failed all six indicators of the nystagmus test which indicated a
more than 77 percent probability that his blood alcohol content was .10 percent or above.
He also failed to successfully complete the "counting backwards" test, and failed in three
attempts to give an adequate breath sample for an Intoxilyzer® test although he appeared to
the officer to have no difficulty breathing. This evidence and the reasonable inferences to
be drawn therefrom support the jury's conclusion that Weaver's driving ability was impaired
to an extent that endangered himself and/or others.
Weaver maintains that, although he failed the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, he
passed two other sobriety tests administered by Officer Schaffer. Weaver merely asks that
we reweigh the evidence in his favor, a task not within our prerogative on appeal. The State
presented sufficient evidence to support Weaver's conviction for operating a vehicle while
intoxicated.
jurors' inattentiveness resulted in actual prejudice. Chubb v. State, 640 N.E.2d 44, 48 (Ind.
1994).
Here, Weaver has failed to establish either of the required elements of his claim. First,
Weaver did not make a contemporaneous objection at trial regarding his allegation that two
jurors were sleeping. Instead, Weaver presented his claim in a motion to correct error
supported by the affidavits of his sister and his wife. Because the alleged juror
inattentiveness was not contemporaneously brought to the trial court's attention, it is
impossible to know whether the jurors were actually sleeping. The conclusory statements
in the post-trial affidavits are not determinative. See id.
Weaver has similarly failed to demonstrate that he suffered actual prejudice as a result
of the alleged juror inattentiveness. Our supreme court has recognized that a juror's mere
falling asleep for a short time does not necessarily constitute a sufficient cause for a new trial
absent a convincing explanation as to why the alleged behavior deprived the defendant of his
rights. Whiting v. State, 516 N.E.2d 1067, 1068 (Ind. 1987). Weaver has failed to offer any
explanation, much less a convincing explanation, as to how he was prejudiced or deprived
of his rights. Weaver was not denied his right to a fair trial.
Affirmed.
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