On February 26th, 2018 the State of Indiana was unable to prove operation and all charges were dismissed by a Marion County Judge. The case began this past summer when the police were called to a VFW for a patron using improper and offensive language. Once the officer arrived an unnamed patron informed the officer that the offending party had just left in a blue truck.
The officer drove around the area and located a blue truck a few blocks south of the VFW. The vehicle’s ignition was on, but the vehicle was in park. The man sitting in the driver’s seat was on the phone. As the officer approached it was clear the man in the driver’s seat was intoxicated. This was confirmed when the man failed all field sobriety tests and blew a .12 on the breathalyzer.
At trial, the State of Indiana chose not to call as a witness any person from the VFW and relied on the officer’s testimony to prove the criminal offense of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated. And while it may look “bad” to be sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle while intoxicated, it does not prove the necessary element of DUI / OVWI that is “operation.” The trial judge granted Attorney Marc Lopez’s motion for involuntary dismissal after the State rested their case.
DUI / OVWI cases are hard. A person facing charges of DUI / OVWI can make the process easier by hiring an experienced attorney to help them. Attorney Marc Lopez has made it his business to be trained in the most recent “Science” of DUI Defense and regularly goes to trial fighting drunk driving cases.
If you or a loved one are facing charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated you owe it to yourself or them to talk with Attorney Marc Lopez. You can reach him at 317-632-3642. Or you can e-mail Attorney Marc Lopez by clicking this link.