A Clayton County jury found Anthony Lawson guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol, OCGA § 40-6-391 a 5 per se; driving an uninsured vehicle, OCGA § 40-6-10 b; driving a motor vehicle with a suspended registration, OCGA § 40-6-15 a; and violating a county open container ordinance. Lawson challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the record shows the following. At about 3:00 a.m. on January 30, 2010, employees of a Clayton County McDonald’s restaurant called the police to report a suspicious vehicle in the restaurant’s parking lot. When an officer arrived, he saw a blue Chevrolet Blazer parked across the lines of two of the lot’s marked spaces. The car’s headlights were on and the engine was running. As the officer approached the car, he saw only Lawson inside. Lawson was slumped in his seat, asleep, with both hands on the steering wheel. After the officer tapped on the window several times, Lawson woke up. He was very groggy, and he initially did not know his name or where he was. After struggling to find his license, Lawson eventually identified himself to the officer and the officer’s Captain, who had just arrived.
The responding officer testified that there were two nearly empty bottles of vodka on Lawson’s passenger seat. Lawson told the police that he was alone, that he had been drinking, and that he had consumed one grapefruit and vodka beverage before driving to the McDonald’s. The officers testified that Lawson’s speech was slurred; that he was drooling; that his eyes were bloodshot and his gaze “rolling”; that he moved his hands slowly, as if they weighed “a ton”; that his head swayed, as if he was off balance; and that he had great difficulty stepping out of his car. Lawson told the police that he had driven to McDonald’s to get some food, and he indicated that he had driven there from the direction of the freeway. Both officers testified that Lawson appeared highly intoxicated and that, in their opinion, it was unsafe for him to drive. A test given shortly thereafter revealed that Lawson’s blood alcohol concentration was .157.
