STATE v. MARTINEZ Leagle.com
STATE v. MARTINEZ
STATE OF IDAHO, Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
JOSE L. MARTINEZ, JR., Defendant-Appellant.
Docket No. 35438.
Court of Appeals of Idaho.
Filed May 18, 2010.
Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender; Diane M. Walker, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.
Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Jessica M. Lorello, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.
THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED OPINION AND SHALL NOT BE CITED AS AUTHORITYMELANSON, Judge.
Jose L. Martinez, Jr. appeals from his judgment of conviction for felony driving under the influence (DUI). Specifically, Martinez challenges the district court's order denying his motion to suppress. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDUREMartinez drove through a police roadblock in order to see the scene of an accident. Officers observed Martinez's vehicle approaching with an orange traffic cone stuck underneath the front of it. Martinez stopped his vehicle after being ordered to do so by officers at the scene. Martinez exhibited physical signs of intoxication, failed a horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and was performing poorly during a walk-and-turn test before refusing to cooperate further. Martinez was arrested and transported to jail. Once at the jail, Martinez was combative and refused to cooperate with officers, including any additional evidentiary testing. Upon refusing a breathalyzer test, Martinez was informed that the officers would perform a forcible blood draw. Martinez responded that he would not cooperate with the blood draw because he was afraid of needles. An E.M.T., trained to draw blood for evidentiary purposes, arrived to perform the blood draw. Martinez placed his hands behind his head and crossed his arms in an attempt to prevent the procedure. The officers grabbed Martinez's arms and he went to the floor. Once on the floor, officers held Martinez still with one arm held out straight so that the E.M.T. could safely take Martinez's blood. At that point, Martinez relented to the procedure. The results of the blood test revealed Martinez's blood alcohol content to be 0.21.
