People v. Jones CA2/6

FACTS

At 11:40 p.m., on September 17, 2023, California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Hanrahan saw a Nissan Versa traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour on a stretch of highway where the speed limit is 65 miles per hour. The car was weaving across highway lanes. Hanrahan conducted a traffic stop. Jones was the driver. Hanrahan suspected Jones was under the influence of alcohol. He smelled alcohol in the car. Jones’s eyes were “watery,” his speech was “slurred,” and there was vomit on his shirt and pants. Jones said he was coming from the Chumash Casino and was going home. Hanrahan administered roadside field sobriety tests. He conducted a horizontal gaze nystagmus test. Jones’s performance showed a “level of impairment” consistent with a “blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit.” Hanrahan conducted a Romberg test where Jones had to close his eyes, tilt his head, and “estimate thirty seconds.” Jones’s performance showed his impairment due to alcohol. Jones was arrested. Hanrahan advised him that the law required that he take a chemical test to determine the alcohol content of his blood. Jones refused to take the test. He was

2 advised that he had the choice of a blood…