State v. R. Vandenbos ( 2020 )

12/01/2020
DA 18-0487
Case Number: DA 18-0487
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
2020 MT 302N
STATE OF MONTANA,
Plaintiff and Appellee,
v.
RAYMOND VANDENBOS,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Ninth Judicial District,
In and For the County of Glacier, Cause No. DC 17-52
Honorable Robert G. Olson, Presiding Judge
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellant:
Chad Wright, Appellate Defender, Lisa S. Korchinski, Assistant Appellate
Defender, Helena, Montana
For Appellee:
Timothy C. Fox, Montana Attorney General, Katie F. Schulz, Assistant
Attorney General, Helena, Montana
Terryl T. Matt, Glacier County Attorney, Joseph F. Sherwood, Deputy
County Attorney, Cut Bank, Montana
Submitted on Briefs: November 4, 2020
Decided: December 1, 2020
Filed:
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__________________________________________
Clerk
Justice Ingrid Gustafson delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating
Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not
serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this
Court’s quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana
Reports.
¶2 Defendant and Appellant Raymond Vandenbos (Vandenbos) was arrested and
charged with driving under the influence (DUI), 4th or subsequent offense. On July 31,
2017, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Terrance Melton was advised by Blackfeet Tribal
Police of a possible drunk driver on the Starr School Road and was provided the make,
color, and license plate number of the vehicle. The license plate number returned to a red
1981 Chevrolet pickup registered to Vandenbos. As Trooper Melton entered the Starr
School area, he observed the vehicle parked on the right side of the westbound lane. As he
drove past the vehicle, the driver’s side door was open and Vandenbos (whom he later
identified) was sitting in the driver’s seat. Trooper Melton turned on his overhead lights
and turned around, before pulling in behind the vehicle. Vandenbos exited the driver’s
side and, as instructed by Trooper Melton, walked to the rear of the truck. Trooper Melton
observed Vandenbos had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, a strong odor of alcohol
emanating from him, and was unsteady on his feet. Trooper Melton asked Vandenbos
where the keys to the vehicle were and Vandenbos removed them from his right front
pocket and handed them to Trooper Melton. Vandenbos refused to participate in any field
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sobriety tests or a blood test, but did agree to take a preliminary breath test. Trooper Melton
then obtained a search warrant for a blood draw, which showed a BAC of .199.
¶3 At trial, Vandenbos moved for directed verdict following the State’s case-in-chief,
asserting the State failed to prove Vandenbos was in “actual physical control” of the
vehicle. The District Court denied the motion and the jury ultimately found Vandenbos
guilty of the DUI offense. On June 6, 2018, the District Court then sentenced Vandenbos
to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections (DOC). On appeal, Vandenbos
asserts the District Court did not have sufficient evidence to determine beyond a reasonable
doubt that Vandenbos was in actual physical control of his vehicle while under the
influence of alcohol. The basis for this assertion is that there were other individuals who
could have potentially driven the vehicle, the vehicle was not running when Trooper
Melton encountered it, and Trooper Melton did not actually see Vandenbos driving the
vehicle. Vandenbos also contends the District Court erred by not crediting him with 311
days of pretrial incarceration.
¶4 We review de novo a question on the sufficiency of the evidence to determine
whether, after reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any
rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a
reasonable doubt. State v. Sommers, 2014 MT 315, ¶ 15, 377 Mont. 203, 339 P.3d 65(citing State v. Redlich, 2014 MT 55, ¶ 18, 374 Mont. 135, 321 P.3d 82).
¶5 Section 61-8-401(1)(a), MCA, provides that it is unlawful for “a person who is
under the influence of . . . alcohol to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle upon
the ways of this state open to the public[.]”
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¶6 Vandenbos’s argument he was not in possession of the vehicle is unpersuasive and
the District Court did not err in paying no heed to this argument. Trooper Melton received
a report of a possible drunk driver on the Starr School Road and was provided the make,
color, and license plate number of the vehicle. Shortly thereafter he located the exact
vehicle on Starr School Road with its occupants still in the vehicle. He witnessed
Vandenbos in the driver’s seat and immediately upon exiting the vehicle, Vandenbos had
the keys to the vehicle in his pocket. This combined with the direct and circumstantial
evidence of intoxication at the time of the arrest is reasonable and sufficient evidence to
support a conviction for DUI.
¶7 Vandenbos also contests the District Court’s failure to credit him for 311 days of
pretrial incarceration. Vandenbos was arrested on July 31, 2017. On August 16, 2017,
Vandenbos was charged by information with the DUI offense and simultaneously the court
issued an arrest warrant and set bond on the DUI offense at $20,000. The DUI offense was
a bailable offense. Vandenbos never posted any bond on this offense and thus was arguably
being held on the DUI offense regardless of whether he was also being held on a different
offense. The record contains a February 21, 2018 letter to Vandenbos from Kevin Olson,
administrator of DOC’s Probation and Parole Division, which states, in pertinent part:
In October of 2017 you filed a disciplinary appeal with Bureau Chief Lahiff.
She responded by denying your appeal and correctly pointing out that your
current placement in the Glacier County Detention Facility is due to your
pending Driving While Under the Influence criminal charges filed by the
Glacier County Attorney’s Office.
The Location Report contained in the record shows Vandenbos was placed on “Conditional
Release Hold” on July 31, 2017, when he was arrested on the DUI offense and that hold
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ended on August 3, 2017, and he was not further placed on a conditional release prior to
June 6, 2018, when he was sentenced on the DUI in this cause. This documentation clearly
indicates Vandenbos was being held only on the DUI charge and was no longer on a
conditional release hold as of August 3, 2017. Each day of incarceration on a bailable
offense must be credited against a defendant’s sentence when directly related to the offense
for which the sentence was imposed. Section 46-18-403(1), MCA; State v. Hornstein,
2010 MT 75, ¶¶ 14, 16, 356 Mont. 14, 229 P.3d 1206. Here, Vandenbos is thus entitled to
credit for the time he served between his arrest and sentencing. The District Court’s
determination of the number of days Vandenbos is entitled to credit for pretrial
incarceration is reversed and this matter is remanded to the District Court to provide
Vandenbos credit for pretrial incarceration in conformance with this Opinion.
¶8 We have determined to decide this case pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c) of our
Internal Operating Rules, which provides for memorandum opinions. In the opinion of the
Court, the case presents a question controlled by settled law or by the clear application of
applicable standards of review.
¶9 Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further action consistent with
this Opinion.
/S/ INGRID GUSTAFSON
We concur:
/S/ DIRK M. SANDEFUR
/S/ LAURIE McKINNON
/S/ BETH BAKER
/S/ JAMES JEREMIAH SHEA
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