Brown v. State

The arresting officer properly stopped Brown for a motor vehicle sound volume violation and the totality of the circumstances gave the officer probable cause to arrest Brown for DUI.

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A Newton County jury found Larry Brown guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol, OCGA § 40-6-391 a 5 driving with an alcohol concentration greater than 0.08 grams1; possessing marijuana, OCGA § 16-13-30 j 1; and violating the sound volume limits for devices within motor vehicles, OCGA § 40-6-14 a. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress illegally seized evidence. Finding no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,2 the record reveals the following. At about 10:50 p.m. on July 15, 2006, a Newton County sheriff’s deputy was sitting in his parked patrol car on a residential road. Before he saw Brown’s car coming down the road, he heard it. He heard music emanating from the car when it was about three quarters of a mile away. The deputy stopped Brown for violating the sound volume limits for devices within a motor vehicle. As the deputy was telling Brown why he stopped him, he smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Brown’s person and noticed that Brown’s eyes were blood-shot and glassy. He asked Brown to step out of the car, and Brown “rolled” out of the car with some difficulty. After he had gotten out of the car, Brown was “uneasy about himself,” stumbled, and almost fell. The deputy patted Brown’s clothing for weapons and discovered a bag of marijuana in his pants pocket.

The deputy arrested Brown for possession of marijuana and driving under the influence, read him implied consent warnings, and took him to jail. Brown consented to an Intoxilyzer test, which yielded test results showing blood- alcohol concentrations of .151 and .153 grams. The test results were obtained within an hour of Brown’s initial traffic stop. At trial, Brown admitted possessing the 2.2 grams of marijuana found on his person.

Brown v. State

The arresting officer properly stopped Brown for a motor vehicle sound volume violation and the totality of the circumstances gave the officer probable cause to arrest Brown for DUI.

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