Cordero v. State

          Rehearing Denied December 4, 2019

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          APPEAL FROM THE SALINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 63CR-17-637], HONORABLE BARBARA WEBB, JUDGE

         Hancock Law Firm, Little Rock, by: Charles D. Hancock, for appellant.

         Leslie Rutledge, Att’y Gen., by: Chris R. Warthen, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee.

          OPINION

         KENNETH S. HIXSON, Judge

          Appellant Stephanie Cordero appeals after she was convicted by the Saline County Circuit Court of driving while intoxicated (DWI) after a bench trial. She was sentenced to five days in the Saline County Jail and a $1000 fine. On appeal,

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appellant’s sole argument is that there was insufficient evidence to convict her of DWI. We affirm.

          I. Relevant Facts

         Appellant was driving home after shopping in Saline County the afternoon of November 9, 2016. After appellant admittedly ran a red light, a private citizen forced her to pull over by blocking her on the road until law enforcement could respond. After law enforcement arrived and observed her behavior at the scene, she was arrested and charged with DWI in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-65-103(a)(1) (Repl. 2016). After appellant was found guilty by the Saline County District Court, she appealed to circuit court. The circuit court held a bench trial on September 27, 2018.

          At trial, Sergeant Hanley Taylor testified that he was the first to respond to the scene. He noticed that appellant was really disoriented, her eyes were glossy, and her speech was broken. Because he did not smell any odor of alcohol, he requested the assistance of a drug recognition expert (DRE). Officer Michael McClain, a trained DRE, responded.

          Officer McClain testified that he observed that appellant’s speech was slurred, her eyes were glazed over and watery, and her movements were slow and sluggish. After conducting field-sobriety tests at the scene, Officer McClain opined that appellant was under the influence and unable to operate her motor vehicle safely. He testified that although he initially allowed appellant to see if she could obtain a ride home, when she was unable to do so, he took her into custody. A video of appellant’s transport to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office was admitted into evidence.

         McClain testified that while at the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, appellant consented to a twelve-step drug-influence evaluation. During the evaluation, appellant admitted to Officer McClain that she had been prescribed Flexeril, Lorazepam, Zofran, and Fioricet. Appellant told the officer that she had a bad migraine headache the night before and that she had taken Fioricet around midnight. Appellant then stated that when she awoke the following morning, she still had a migraine headache and that around 8:00 a.m. she took two additional Fioricet pills. Further, appellant stated that in addition to the two Fioricet pills she took that morning, she had also taken four over-the-counter pseudoephedrine pills for sinus issues. McClain testified that later in the evaluation, appellant changed her story and stated that she did not remember whether she took Fioricet that morning. Officer McClain stated that appellant continued to exhibit ...