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State v. Blanchard

There was insufficient probable cause to support the defendant's arrest for DUI and the trial court properly granted her motion to suppress evidence garnered as a result of that arrest.

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Wendy Blanchard was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol less safe DUI, driving with a suspended license, and an open-container violation. After her arrest, Blanchard moved to suppress statements that she made to the arresting officer, and following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion. In doing so, the court also found that the arresting officer lacked sufficient probable cause to arrest Blanchard for DUI. The State appeals,1 challenging the trial court’s finding that there was insufficient probable cause to support Blanchard’s arrest. For the reasons set forth infra, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s ruling,2 the evidence shows that on July 23, 2014, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Ethan Taffar, an officer with the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, was driving his patrol car when he saw Blanchard’s vehicle, which was a few cars ahead of him, merge into the gore area of the highway. Taffar then pulled up behind her because it appeared that she was having car trouble, and he wanted to ask if she needed assistance. When Taffar asked her if everything was alright, Blanchard told him that she had run out of gas, and he offered to drive her to a nearby gas station. Once Blanchard was in his patrol car, Taffar asked to see her license, but Blanchard stated that she did not have it with her. Taffar then asked for her name and date of birth, and she gave him the name Gloria Williams. But when Taffar told Blanchard that he could not find that person in the relevant database, Blanchard promptly provided her real name and date of birth, explaining that she initially thought that he wanted to know the name of the person who owned the car. Taffar then ran a check on Blanchard and discovered that she had a suspended license. As a result, he exited the vehicle, went around the car to Blanchard’s door, and arrested her for driving with a suspended license.

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