Koyanagi

United States v. Koyanagi

Good Law
159 F. App'x 800
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitDecember 20, 2005No. 04-10679California364 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Sheldon Koyanagi was convicted of possession with the intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base under 21 U.S.C. § 841 and sentenced to thirty-seven months’ imprisonment. In his plea agreement, Koyanagi preserved the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. Koyanagi contends on appeal that Senior Airman Endres lacked probable cause to arrest him for driving under the influence of an intoxicant in violation of *801 H.R.S. § 291E-61 and, therefore, the district court should have suppressed evidence discovered incident to arrest, including the cocaine. We disagree and affirm the conviction.

According to Endres, Koyanagi smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, slow response times to instructions, and he appeared to be confused. One of Koyanagi’s companions told Endres that Koyanagi had been drinking before arriving at the military base. See United States v. Smith, 790 F.2d 789, 792 (9th Cir.1986) (explaining that probable cause for arrest exists when, “under the totality of circumstances known to the arresting officers, a prudent person would have concluded that there was a fair probability that [the defendant] had…

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