This case is being heard in the First District Court of Suffolk County. The plaintiff in the case is the People of the State of New York. The defendant of the case is Jose R. Rivas. Judge M. Filiberto is overseeing the proceeding.
There has been a combined Probable Cause, Huntley, and Refusal Hearing in this matter. The Court has found the following facts in the case.
Case Facts
A New York DWI Lawyer said on the 23rd of February, 2009 at around 2 a.m. Police officers Decio and Squiccirini were on patrol in the area of Commercial Boulevard located in Brentwood, New York. Officer Decio was behind an automobile that went through a stop sign without stopping or attempting to slow down in any manner. He pulled the car over.
Officer Decio approached the vehicle and asked the driver to turn the car off. He asked the defendant if he spoke English and was informed that he did. Officer Decio asked the driver if he knew that he had just went through a stop sign and the driver stated that the had not seen it. The driver of the car was asked for his license and was identified to be the defendant Jose Rivas.
When speaking to Rivas, Officer Decio smelled alcohol, but could not determine whether it was from the vehicle or the defendant’s breath. A New York DWI Lawyer said he asked Rivas to step out of the car and observed that he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and that his breath smelled of alcohol. Officer Decio had Rivas perform a standard field sobriety test. He explained twice how to perform the HGN test, but Rivas did not comply. He then had him perform the one legged stand test and Rivas fell forward during it. Rivas also only completed three of the required heel toe steps. The officer then conducted a breathalyzer test and the BAC of Rivas was 0.16%.
The officer placed the man under arrest and took him to the precinct. At the precinct the officer requested to take a chemical test. The defendant did not ask for the warnings to be repeated in Spanish or for the officer to read the request more slowly. He refused the chemical test in writing. Officer Decio had a Spanish speaking officer read the rights to the defendant again as a courtesy.
Court Conclusion
Officer Decio had reasonable suspicion to pull the defendant over for driving through the stop sign as a violation of the law. When he asked the defendant to turn of the engine in English the defendant complied and did not indicate in any way that he did not understand English.
At the precinct the defendant was read his rights and asked if he understood them. He was told in both English and Spanish the repercussions for not complying with the chemical test. A Nassau County DWI Lawyer said the defendant seemed to fully understand English throughout the entire ordeal.
The court finds no evidence to support that the Miranda rights of the defendant were violated. A new court date will be set for the trial of the defendant.
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