Following his bench trial on stipulated facts, Sewdatt Munna was found guilty of two counts of habitual impaired driving, driving under the influence and failure to maintain lane. He now appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, and contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment on constitutional speedy trial grounds. Munna also maintains that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for habitual impaired driving. Following our review, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support Munna’s conviction, but we vacate the denial of Munna’s speedy trial motion for discharge and acquittal and remand this case with direction.
The record demonstrates that on April 17, 2010, Munna was stopped by an officer with the Loganville Police Department, and ultimately arrested for driving under the influence to the extent he was a less safe driver and failure to maintain a lane. His driver’s license, which the officer confiscated, identified him as Sewdatt Munna, but the police department employee who was downloading his arrest photograph recognized Munna’s uncommon first name. She searched and found files of Munna’s three previous arrests – February 3, 2007, December 11, 2008, and January 7, 2010 – for DUI, but they were filed under the last name “Mathura.” Based on this information, on June 3, 2010, Munna was arrested when he appeared in court for the April 17, 2010 DUI and charged with habitual impaired driving. During the subsequent search of his person and car incident to Munna’s arrest for habitual impaired driving, police recovered several forms of identification, including two credits cards, one in the “Mathura” name and one in the “Munna” name, and a drivers license in the “Mathura” name. Additionally, an investigator with the Georgia Department of Drivers’ Services testified that on August 20, 2009, “Sewdatt Mathura” had been personally served with notice of his habitual violator status pursuant to OCGA § 40-5-58 the Drivers’ License Act and that his driver’s license had been revoked for a minimum of five years.1 The trial court found him guilty as charged.
