Opinion ID: 889641
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: facts specific to peters

Text: ¶ 46 On November 17, 2008, at approximately 12:30 p.m., a concerned citizen, Sandra, reported a possible drunk driver leaving the parking lot of Capital Sports in Helena. Sandra described the suspect's vehicle as a Suburban and provided the license plate number. Helena Police Officer Lynette Flink (Flink) responded, and tried to locate the vehicle at Capital Sports. Flink was unable to locate the vehicle, so she drove to the registered owner's address. ¶ 47 When Flink arrived at the address, she saw a Suburban matching Sandra's description in the driveway. Two doors on the driver's side were open, there was a male in the passenger seat, and a male was walking away from the vehicle towards the house. Flink verified the license plate number. Flink then made contact with the passenger, asking where the driver of the vehicle was. The passenger eventually responded that the driver was in the house. The passenger then tried to get out of the vehicle, and Flink ordered the passenger to stay in the vehicle. The passenger initially refused, but a second officer approached and the passenger complied. ¶ 48 Flink, alone, then approached the back door of the home, which was open. Inside, she could see a male she believed to be Damon Peters, whom she recognized from past associations, talking on the phone. His identity was later confirmed. She knocked on the door, but did not enter the house. Peters approached her with arrows in his hand. She asked him to put the arrows down, which Peters did. Flink told Peters she needed to speak with him. Peters came outside and Flink asked him if he was driving the Suburban. Peters did not admit to driving. Peters did admit that the house and Suburban were his, that he had been drinking earlier in the day, and that he had just returned from Capital Sports. ¶ 49 Flink then asked Peters to get his insurance information. Peters walked to the Suburban and retrieved his insurance information from the vehicle. Once Peters retrieved his insurance information, Flink asked Peters to come with her to the back of the Suburban. There, she asked Peters if he just got back from hunting. Peters responded about two other individuals. Flink asked if the other individuals were with him. Peters said we just pulled everyone out of the woods yesterday. Flink then asked Peters if he had been drinking all day? Peters responded that he had a couple drinks, yeah. Flink then asked him to hang tight. ¶ 50 Flink returned to her patrol car and attempted to contact Sandra. At this time, a third officer arrived and joined the second officer near the Suburban. After several failed attempts, Flink finally reached Sandra via telephone. Flink asked Sandra if she saw who was driving the Suburban. Sandra responded that the passenger had on a gray wool coat, and the driver was wearing jeans. Flink asked if Sandra remembered what the driver was wearing. Sandra said the driver had on jeans, no jacket, but she could not recall what type of shirt he was wearing. Sandra also said he was wearing hiking-type shoes, had short hair and she did not think he had facial hair. Sandra said she thought she could recognize the driver again if she saw him. Flink then asked Sandra to come to the scene to identify the driver. Although reluctant, Sandra agreed to drive to Peters' residence to identify the driver. ¶ 51 However, before Sandra arrived, Flink consulted with another officer. Flink stated that Sandra gave a decent description of Peters, although the description did not include facial hair (which Peters indeed had), but that Peters also admitted to being at Capital Sports. After this discussion, she asked Peters to come speak with her. She then told Peters I believe you're the driver of this vehicle and I have a witness who is telling me the same thing. She gave a pretty good description of you. She is going to come down here and see if you're the same guy that she saw, but I'll be honest with you Damon, you pretty much match the description she gave me. Flink then asked Peters were you driving? Peters said yes. ¶ 52 Flink then proceeded to investigate Peters for DUI. Peters showed obvious signs of impairment, and refused a breath test outside his home. Peters was then arrested and taken to the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center. There, Peters agreed to take a breath test on the Intoxilyzer 8000. Peters' breath test result was 0.173. Officers at the detention center also found several small, blue pills on Peters' person. ¶ 53 Peters was charged with DUI, a misdemeanor, in violation of § 61-8-401, MCA, and possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, in violation of § 45-9-102, MCA. Peters filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of an illegal interrogation. An evidentiary hearing was held on June 25, 2009. On August 31, 2009, the District Court denied Peters' motion to suppress, finding that the initial investigatory stop was valid and that Peters was not in custody until his formal arrest, thus a Miranda warning was not required.