Jackelin Andrea Ramirez-Vera v. State of Indiana ( 2020 )

FILED
Mar 17 2020, 8:56 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Marc Lopez Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
The Marc Lopez Law Firm Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Ian McLean
Matthew Kroes Supervising Deputy Attorney
Zac Bailey General
Indianapolis, Indiana
Stephen Creason
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jackelin Andrea Ramirez-Vera, March 17, 2020
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-CR-1368
v. Appeal from the Jennings Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Gary L. Smith,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
40D01-1810-CM-517
Najam, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 19A-CR-1368 | March 17, 2020 Page 1 of 17
Statement of the Case
[1] Jackelin Andrea Ramirez-Vera 1 appeals her conviction for operating a vehicle
with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least 0.15 gram of alcohol per
100 milliliters of blood, as a Class A misdemeanor, following a bench trial.
Ramirez presents three issues for our review, which we revise and restate as
follows:
1. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to
demonstrate that she was operating a vehicle when officers
found her intoxicated in her parked car.
2. Whether the State laid an adequate foundation for the
admission of a chemical blood test.
3. Whether the trial court erred when it admitted into
evidence her pre-Miranda statements.
[2] We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History 2
[3] On the evening of August 12, 2017, Amanda Matern went to a bar. While at
the bar, Matern met Ramirez, and the two “wound up leaving together” in
Ramirez’ vehicle. Tr. at 9. Ramirez drove her car that night, and she drove the
1
At the beginning of her bench trial, Ramirez-Vera indicated that her preferred name is Ramirez. See Tr. at
5. Accordingly, we will refer to her as Ramirez throughout this opinion.
2
We held oral argument in this case on March 3, 2020, at Wabash College in Crawfordsville. We thank
counsel for their excellent advocacy and extend our appreciation to the administration, faculty, staff, and
students of Wabash College for their hospitality.
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“entire time.” Id. at 11. Sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m., Nick
Templeton observed Ramirez’ car “on the travel portion of the road” at “a stop
sign” of a county road “getting ready to turn” onto Indiana State Road 3. Id. at
16, 17. Ramirez’ vehicle was running and the brake lights were on, but the
headlights were off. As Templeton approached the vehicle, he saw people in
the car who appeared to be “passed out.” Id. at 17. Templeton also noticed
that an individual in the car had her right “leg hiked up and the left leg was
down . . . on the brake[.]” Id. Templeton called 9-1-1.
[4] Deputy Garrett Hoppock with the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office responded
to the call and arrived at the intersection at 10:53 p.m. When Deputy Hoppock
arrived, he observed Ramirez’ vehicle to be on the county road “just west of
State Road 3.” Id. at 21. Deputy Hoppock noticed that Ramirez’ vehicle was
running but that the headlights were off. Deputy Hoppock then saw a broken
beer bottle on the ground near the driver’s side door.
[5] As Deputy Hoppock approached the vehicle, he initially did not see anyone
inside. However, as he got closer, he observed two females in “the front
passenger seat,” which had been “laid back,” and no one in the driver’s seat.
Id. at 27. Deputy Hoppock then saw a pair of shoes and a pair of pants on the
floor in front of the driver’s seat, and he noticed that Ramirez was “in a state of
undress” on top of Matern in the front passenger seat. Id. Deputy Hoppock
also observed an empty six-pack of beer in the back seat that was the same
brand as the bottle he had found on the ground.
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[6] Deputy Hoppock knocked on the passenger’s side window and woke Ramirez
and Matern up. Once they were awake, Ramirez “crawled over” to the driver’s
seat and put her pants and shoes on. Id. at 29. She then opened the window,
and Deputy Hoppock detected an odor of an “alcoholic beverage” emitting
from the vehicle. Id. at 30. When Deputy Hoppock asked Ramirez questions,
her answers were “pretty short.” Id. And Deputy Hoppock noticed that
Ramirez “fumbled” with her identification card. Id.
[7] Ramirez then exited the car. However, she had to “grab on to the door and pull
herself from the vehicle,” which is an action Deputy Hoppock “[n]ormally”
sees in “somebody that is impaired.” Id. at 31. At that point, Deputy Hoppock
administered a series of field sobriety tests to Ramirez. Ramirez agreed to take
two of the tests. The results of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test demonstrated
that Ramirez was “impaired.” Id. at 39. And the results of the vertical gaze
nystagmus test indicated that there was “a high dose of alcohol” present in her
system. Id. at 41. Deputy Hoppock asked Ramirez to perform two additional
field sobriety tests, but she “refused.” Id.
[8] Deputy Hoppock read Ramirez the implied consent advisement, and Ramirez
agreed to take a certified blood test. At that point, Deputy Hoppock
transported Ramirez to a hospital. Once at the hospital, Virgil Mullikin drew
Ramirez’ blood at 12:25 a.m. on August 13. The results of that test
demonstrated that Ramirez had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.229 gram of
alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
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[9] The State charged Ramirez with one count of operating a vehicle with an
alcohol concentration equivalent to at least 0.15 gram of alcohol per 100
milliliters of blood, as a Class A misdemeanor (Count I); one count of operating
a vehicle while intoxicated, as a Class C misdemeanor (Count II); and one
count of operating a motor vehicle without ever receiving a license, as a Class C
misdemeanor (Count III).
[10] The trial court held a bench trial on May 23, 2019. At the start of the bench
trial, the State moved to dismiss Count III, which motion the trial court
granted. The State then called Deputy Hoppock. Deputy Hoppock testified
that Ramirez had told him “that she was driving earlier.” Id. at 31. At that
point, Ramirez objected to the admission of her statements to Deputy Hoppock
because those statements were made before Deputy Hoppock advised her of her
Miranda rights. The trial court determined that Deputy Hoppock was “entitled”
to ask Ramirez questions at that stage of his investigation and overruled her
objection. Id. at 34. Deputy Hoppock then testified that Ramirez told him that
she had been driving “earlier,” but that she had “drank too much, so she pulled
over to sleep it off.” Id. at 35.
[11] The State then called Mullikin as a witness. Mullikin testified that, when he
drew Ramirez’ blood, he followed a specific protocol. He then testified that the
protocol he had followed was “approved by all who reviewed it,” and that
“usually” one of the people who reviews it is a physician. Id. at 53. And he
testified that the pathologist, who is a physician, reviews “all policies” that go
into place. Id. at 54.
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[12] Ramirez objected to any evidence of Ramirez’ blood draw on the ground that
the State had failed to lay an adequate foundation, namely, that the State had
failed to establish that the protocol followed by Mullikin had been approved by
a physician. The State responded and asserted that evidence of the blood draw
was admissible because Mullikin testified that a pathologist, a physician, had
reviewed the policy. The trial court overruled Ramirez’ motion.
[13] Cheryl Anderson, a forensic scientist with the Indiana Department of
Toxicology, then testified about the results of Ramirez’ blood test. During
Anderson’s testimony, the State moved to admit the results of that test.
Ramirez stated that she had “[n]o objections” to the admission of that evidence.
Id. at 71. The court admitted the results of the blood test, which showed that
Ramirez’ blood alcohol content was 0.229 gram per 100 milliliters of blood.
[14] At the conclusion of the bench trial, the court found Ramirez guilty of Counts I
and II. The court then vacated Count II and sentenced her to 365 days on
Count I, with all but time served suspended to probation. This appeal ensued.
Discussion and Decision
Issue One: Sufficiency of the Evidence
[15] Ramirez first asserts that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to
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support her conviction on Count I. 3 Our standard of review on a claim of
insufficient evidence is well settled:
For a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we look only at the
probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the
verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007). We do
not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh the evidence.
We will affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder
could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable
doubt. Id.Love v. State, 73 N.E.3d 693. 696 (Ind. 2017).
[16] In order to convict Ramirez, the State was required to prove that she had
operated a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least 0.15
gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. Ind. Code § 9-30-5-1(b) (2019).
Further, Indiana Code Section 9-30-6-15 provides:
At any proceeding concerning an offense under IC 9-30-5 . . . ,
evidence of the alcohol concentration that was in the blood of the
person charged with the offense:
(1) at the time of the alleged violation; or
3
In her reply brief, Ramirez purports to challenge her conviction on Count II. Specifically, she asserts that,
if she “were to succeed on her appeal and have her conviction on Count I reversed, her conviction on Count
II would remain.” Reply Br. at 9. As we affirm her conviction on Count I, we need not address her
argument on Count II.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 19A-CR-1368 | March 17, 2020 Page 7 of 17
(2) within the time allowed for testing under section 2 of
this chapter;
as shown by an analysis of the person’s breath, blood, urine, or
other bodily substance is admissible.
I.C. § 9-30-6-15(a). Section 2 provides that a chemical blood test “must be
administered within three (3) hours after the law enforcement officer had
probable cause to believe the person committed an offense under IC 9-30-5[.]”
I.C. § 9-30-6-2(c). And, if the evidence establishes that a chemical test was
taken “within the period allowed for testing under section two” and that the
person had an illegal blood alcohol concentration, the trier of fact “shall
presume” that the person had an illegal alcohol concentration at the time the
person operated the vehicle. I.C. § 9-30-6-15(b). However, that presumption is
rebuttable. Id.
[17] On appeal, Ramirez argues that the State could only rely on the presumption
that she had operated her vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to
more than 0.15 if it could prove that she had operated her vehicle at some point
after 9:25 p.m., three hours before the blood test at 12:25 a.m., which she
contends the State failed to do. Specifically, she asserts that the evidence
demonstrates that she had stopped operating her car sometime before
Templeton found her, which was as early as 9:00 p.m. We cannot agree.
[18] In Mordacq v. State, 585 N.E.2d 22 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992), we considered whether
a defendant had been operating a vehicle when officers found her asleep in her
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car, which was parked on the street with its engine running. Id. at 23. On
appeal, this Court explained:
[D]efendants have been held to be operating the vehicle, when
found at the wheel of a car with its engine running: on the
median strip of a four-lane highway; stopped at an intersection,
asleep; stuck in a snowbank on the median of an interstate
highway; and, stopped in a lane of traffic on a county road,
asleep.
Id. (citations omitted). However, because “[t]here was no evidence that [the
defendant’s] car was stopped in the travel portion of the roadway,” this Court
held that the State had failed to show that the defendant was operating her
vehicle when officers found her. Id.[19] Then, in Winters v. State, 132 N.E.3d 46 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019), this Court again
considered whether a defendant was operating a vehicle when officers found the
defendant asleep in a running vehicle. Id. at 47. In that case, the Court noted
that “[u]nlike Mordacq,” the defendant’s vehicle was in the travel portion of the
roadway. Id. at 50. Based on that fact, this Court held that the defendant was
operating his vehicle at the time officers found him. Id. at 51.
[20] In the present case, like in both Mordacq and Winters, Deputy Hoppock found
Ramirez asleep in her vehicle with its engine running. But, as in Winters and
unlike in Mordacq, Ramirez’ vehicle was in the roadway. Indeed, Templeton
testified that he observed Ramirez’ vehicle “in the travel portion of the road” at
a stop sign facing a state highway. Tr. at 17. Further, while she was in the
passenger seat when Deputy Hoppock arrived, Ramirez does not dispute that
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she was the only person to drive the vehicle that night, which was confirmed
when Matern testified that Ramirez drove the “entire time.” Id. at 11. And,
while the evidence demonstrates that she may have parked her car as early as
9:00 p.m. and that the car was in the same location when Deputy Hoppock
responded to the 9-1-1 call, “‘the State does not have to prove movement of the
car.’” Winters, 132 N.E.3d at 49 (quoting Mordacq, 585 N.E.2d at 24). Based
on the fact that Ramirez was the only person to have driven the car that night
and the fact that the vehicle was stopped on the travel portion of the road with
its engine running when Deputy Hoppock arrived on the scene at 10:53 p.m.,
the State presented sufficient evidence to show that Ramirez was operating her
vehicle at that time.
[21] The crux of Ramirez’ argument on appeal is that the State failed to present
evidence that the blood test was administered within three hours of her
operating the vehicle and, as a result, the State could not rely on the
presumption that her blood alcohol level was at least 0.15 at the time she
operated the car. But, again, the State did present sufficient evidence from
which a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that Ramirez was operating her
vehicle when Deputy Hoppock arrived at her location at 10:53 p.m.
Accordingly, the blood test, which was administered less than three hours later
at 12:25 a.m., was timely conducted within three hours after Deputy Hoppock
had probable cause to believe that she had committed an offense, and, as such,
the State presented sufficient evidence to support her conviction.
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Issue Two: Whether the State Laid an Adequate Foundation for the
Admission of the Blood Test
[22] Ramirez next contends that the court abused its discretion when it admitted the
results of her blood test as evidence. As our Supreme Court has stated:
Generally, a trial court’s ruling on the admission of evidence is
accorded a great deal of deference on appeal. Because the trial
court is best able to weigh the evidence and assess witness
credibility, we review its rulings on admissibility for abuse of
discretion and only reverse if a ruling is clearly against the logic
and effect of the facts and circumstances and the error affects a
party’s substantial rights.
Hall v. State, 36 N.E.3d 459, 466 (Ind. 2015).
[23] Ramirez contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted the
results of the blood test as evidence because the State was unable to prove that
Mullikin had performed the blood draw pursuant to a protocol approved by a
physician, which Ramirez contends was a “foundational requirement” for the
admission of that evidence. Appellant’s Br. at 18. To support her assertion,
Ramirez relies on Indiana Code Section 9-30-6-6(a), which provides that blood
samples collected at the request of a law enforcement officer as part of a
criminal investigation must be obtained by a physician or “a person trained
in . . . obtaining bodily substance samples and acting under the direction of or
under a protocol prepared by a physician[.]” (Emphasis added.)
[24] However, Ramirez failed to preserve this issue for our review. It is well settled
that a contemporaneous objection at the time the evidence is introduced at trial
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is required to preserve the issue for appeal. Brown v. State, 929 N.E.2d 204, 207
(Ind. 2010). The purpose of this rule is to allow the trial judge to consider the
issue in light of any fresh developments and also to correct any errors. Id.[25] Here, when the State questioned Mullikin about the protocol he had followed
to obtain the blood sample, Ramirez objected to any evidence related to the
blood test on the ground that the State had not provided an adequate
foundation to support the admission of that evidence, which objection the trial
court overruled. However, when the State later moved to admit the results of
Ramirez’ blood test during Anderson’s testimony, Ramirez explicitly stated that
she had “[n]o objections” to the admission of that evidence. Tr. at 71. Because
Ramirez did not object at the time the challenged evidence was introduced at
trial, she has failed to preserve this issue for our review. 4
Issue Three: Pre-Miranda Statements
[26] Finally, Ramirez asserts that the trial court abused its discretion when it
admitted her pre-Miranda statements as evidence. As stated above, a trial
court’s ruling on the admission of evidence is accorded a great deal of
deference. Hall, 36 N.E.3d at 466. Accordingly, we will only reverse a trial
4
Wavier notwithstanding, Ramirez’ argument on this issue must fail. As discussed above, a trial court’s
ruling on the admission of evidence is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Hall, 36 N.E.3d at 466. Here,
Mullikin testified that the protocol he followed when he drew Ramirez’ blood was “approved by all who
reviewed it[.]” Tr. at 53. And he testified that a pathologist, who is a physician, reviews “all policies” that
go into place. Id. at 54. Further, Mullikin drew Ramirez’ blood at St. Vincent hospital. That evidence
supports an inference that a physician had approved the protocol Mulliken followed. Accordingly, the trial
court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted the results of the blood test as evidence.
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court’s ruling if it is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and
circumstances and the error affects Ramirez’ substantial rights. See id.
[27] This Court has recently stated:
In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 44, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1612, 16
L.E.2d 694 (1966), the United States Supreme Court held that
the “prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or
inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the
defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards
effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination.” Prior
to any custodial interrogation, “the person must be warned that
[s]he had a right to remain silent, that any statement [s]he does
make may be used as evidence against h[er], and that [s]he has a
right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or
appointed.” Id. Statements elicited in violation of Miranda
generally are inadmissible in a criminal trial. Loving v. State, 647
N.E.2d 1123, 1125 (Ind. 1995).
Hudson v. State, 129 N.E.3d 220, 224 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019). “A law enforcement
officer’s duty to give Miranda warnings does not attach unless there has been
such a restriction on the person’s freedom as to render him in custody.” Corbin
v. State, 113 N.E.3d 755, 760 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018).
[28] On appeal, Ramirez contends that her statements to Deputy Hoppock, which
she made prior to receiving a Miranda warning, were inadmissible at trial. In
particular, Ramirez told Deputy Hoppock that she had driven earlier in the
evening but that she had had too much to drink so she pulled over to sleep.
Ramirez asserts that an officer is required to give Miranda warnings “‘at the
moment during the investigation of an accident that an officer knows or should
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know that the investigation is contemplating a crime[.]’” Appellant’s Br. at 20
(quoting Moore v. State, 723 N.E.2d 442, 450 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000)). And
Ramirez asserts that Deputy Hoppock “immediately found circumstantial
evidence” that a crime had been committed. Id. at 21. Accordingly, Ramirez
asserts that Deputy Hoppock was required to advise her of her Miranda rights,
and she maintains that any statements she made prior to that advisement were
inadmissible.
[29] This Court addressed a similar issue in State v. Hicks, 882 N.E.2d 238 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2008). In that case, an officer responded to a report of a vehicle stopped
on railroad tracks. Id. at 239. When the officer arrived, he spoke with several
individuals who were at the scene, including the defendant. Id. at 240. During
the conversation, the officer noticed that the defendant smelled of alcohol and
showed signs of intoxication. Id. The officer then asked the defendant a series
of questions about who owned the car and who had driven the car. Id. The
defendant ultimately admitted that she had driven the car. Id. The officer then
administered field sobriety tests, which the defendant failed. Id. Prior to her
trial, the defendant filed a motion to suppress the statements she had made to
the officer on the ground that she had made those statements in violation of her
Miranda rights. Id. The trial court granted her motion. Id.[30] On appeal, the defendant maintained that the officer was required to advise her
of her Miranda rights because the officer suspected that she had committed the
crime of driving while intoxicated. Id. at 242. This Court first noted that “our
supreme court has consistently stated that questioning an individual the police
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suspect of a crime does not inherently render the questioning custodial
interrogation requiring Miranda warnings.” Id. The Court further noted that
the encounter was “substantially similar to a traffic stop” and stated:
In Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 440. 140 S. Ct. 3138, 82
L.Ed.2d 317 (1984), the Court concluded that the “noncoercive
aspect of ordinary traffic stops prompts us to hold that persons
temporarily detained pursuant to such stops are not ‘in custody’
for the purposes of Miranda.” Although the Court recognized
that the defendant had been seized, it noted the brief nature of
such stops, and that such stops “commonly occur in the public
view, in an atmosphere far “less ‘police dominated’ than that
surrounding the kinds of interrogation at issue in Miranda itself.”
Pennsylvania v. Bruder, 488 U.S. 9, 10, 109 S. Ct. 205, 102
L.Ed.2d 172 (1988) (per curiam) (quoting Berkemer, 468 U.S. at
439-39, 104 S. Ct. 3138). In Bruder, the Court relied on Berkemer
in holding that police officers were not required to give Miranda
warnings where an officer “ask[ed] respondent a modest number
of questions and request[ed] him to perform a simple balancing
test at a location visible to passing motorists.” Id. at 11.
Id. at 243 (alterations in original). This Court concluded that, because “police
are allowed to ask questions and request sobriety tests of motorists whom they
pull over, we see no reason why [the officer] could not act similarly when he
encountered [the defendant] in the immediate vicinity of a disabled vehicle.”
Id. Accordingly, this Court held that the defendant was not in custody when
she told the officer that she had been driving the vehicle.
[31] Similarly, here, Deputy Hoppock responded to a report of a vehicle stopped in
the roadway. When Deputy Hoppock arrived, he noticed Ramirez in her
vehicle. He then spoke with Ramirez and noticed signs of intoxication. At that
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point, Deputy Hoppock asked Ramirez questions, and Ramirez responded that
she had driven the car earlier in the evening but that she had pulled over
because she had had too much to drink. As in Hicks, that encounter was
substantially equivalent to a traffic stop during which police are allowed to ask
questions and request sobriety tests. Accordingly, we see no reason why
Deputy Hoppock could not act similarly when he encountered Ramirez in her
stopped vehicle. We therefore hold that Ramirez was not in custody when she
made her statements to Deputy Hoppock, and, as such, the trial court did not
err when it admitted those statements as evidence.
Conclusion
[32] In sum, the State presented sufficient evidence to prove that Ramirez was
operating her vehicle when officers arrived at her location at 10:53 p.m. and, as
such, that the blood test was timely administered less than three hours after
Deputy Hoppock had probable cause to believe she had committed an offense.
Accordingly, the State was entitled to rely on the presumption that she had
operated her vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least 0.15
gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. Further, Ramirez did not preserve
for our review her claim that the trial court abused its discretion when it
admitted the results of the blood test. And the trial court did not err when it
admitted Ramirez’ pre-Miranda statements as evidence because Ramirez was
not in custody at that time. We therefore affirm her conviction.
[33] Affirmed.
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May, J., and Altice, J., concur.
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