Opinion ID: 2436911
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: dwi

Text: A police officer found the appellant asleep at 1:30 a.m. behind the wheel of a car which was lodged against a building in a parking lot. The car and the building were damaged. The ignition key in the car was turned on, and the gear shift lever was in the drive position, but the engine was not running. The appellant was awakened by the officer whose undisputed testimony was that the appellant smelled of intoxicants, was unsteady on his feet, spoke in a slurred manner, and had to be wrestled from his position behind the steering wheel. For the proposition that the evidence did not show the appellant to have been in actual physical control of the car, the appellant cites Dowell v. State, 283 Ark. 161, 671 S.W.2d 740 (1984), in which we held Dowell was not shown to have been in control of the car in which he was found asleep. There, the keys to the vehicle were found in the car seat at the time of the arrest. We agree with the state's contention that the facts of this case resemble more those in Wiyott v. State, 284 Ark. 399, 683 S.W.2d 220 (1985), in which Wiyott was found asleep in the car with the keys in the ignition switch. The appellant in that case attempted to start the engine when he was awakened by officers. There, we sustained the conviction noting that the appellant could have at any moment awakened and started the car, and he was thus in as much control of a vehicle as an intoxicated person can be. We find the same to be true here. As to whether the evidence was sufficient to show that the appellant in this case was intoxicated, we need only say we find the trial court was warranted in finding the circumstances mentioned earlier to have been convincing. The appellant's argument is that the arresting officer did not give an opinion that the appellant was intoxicated and that the appellant could have been merely groggy after being aroused from a deep sleep. That does not explain the odor of intoxicants and the officer's testimony that the appellant was unsteady on his feet even when they were at the police station later. When the issue is whether the evidence was sufficient, we view it most favorably to the appellee and sustain the verdict if there is any substantial evidence to support it. Azbill v. State, 285 Ark. 98, 685 S.W.2d 162 (1985); Phillips v. State, 271 Ark. 96, 607 S.W.2d 664 (1980).