New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
A New York Drug Crime Lawyer said that a police officer from New York City was almost struck by a truck while he was inside his vehicle patrolling the streets just before midnight. The officer testified that the truck went backward into the junction from on-street parking space without its rear lights illuminated. He also simultaneously sounded his horn and put his vehicle in reverse to avoid a collision. The truck then pulled forward, returning to its parking space. When the officer parked his vehicle and approached the truck, he saw that the man was seated in the driver’s seat with the engine running. The officer asked the man where he was going and responded that he was heading home. After the officer obtained his license and registration information, the man turned off the engine and went out of the truck. Noticing a strong odor of alcohol, the officer asked whether the man had been drinking. The man acknowledged that he had consumed few beers at a bar on the adjacent corner.
Subsequently, the man’s father came out from the bar and began yelling at the officer. The man handed his father set of keys and the father returned to the bar after being directed by the officer to stand back from the area. A New York Drug Possession Lawyer said field sobriety tests were administered in which the man failed, and was placed under arrest. Based on the record, field sobriety tests are evaluations done by law enforcement officers in making roadside assessment as to whether a motorist is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. At the trial, the man stipulated to the propriety, reliability and admissibility of the succeeding breathalyzer test which revealed that his blood alcohol content was 0.15%.
In contrast to the officer’s version of the events, the man claimed that he left the bar to lock the truck and did not operate the vehicle at that time. He also offered the testimony of family members and friends and asserted that they were drinking with him in the bar when he announced that he was going outside to lock his truck. A Nassau County Drug Possession Lawyer said they claimed that the man intended to return to the bar and was planning to spend the night at a friend’s house which was within walking distance. The witnesses acknowledged that they didn’t see what happened outside after he departed from the bar. Hence, the bottom of the defense was that since the man left his keys on the bar, he was unable to operate his truck. Only one witness, his brother-in-law, was able to identify the keys as those to the ignition of the truck.
Even though the man acknowledged that he was intoxicated at the time in question, he still contends on the appeal that the verdict convicting him of two counts of DWI (driving while intoxicated) was unsupported by adequate proof and against the weight of the evidence due to the court’s failure to demonstrate that he operated the motor vehicle. However, a Queens Drug Possession Lawyer said that in the police officer’s statement that he saw the truck move back and forth into the parking space with the man sitting on the driver’s seat with the engine running as he approached the vehicle was sufficient enough to establish operation of the vehicle. The verdict against the weight of the evidence as the officer’s account was not directly disproven by any of the defense witnesses, none of whom were outside the bar at the relevant time. The statement to the effect that the man could not have been operating the truck because his keys remained in the bar presented credibility questions which the jury, reasonably resolved in the court’s favor. Accordingly, the decision is affirmed.
There are instances in our lives when we are incapable of defending ourselves and nobody is willing to testify to tell the truth. NY DWI Lawyers at Stephen Bilkis & Associates are capable of protecting you against these events. You may visit our offices which are located all throughout the New York Metropolitan area.