State of Iowa
v.
Jamie Michael Ubben
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Jamie Michael Ubben
Attorney for the Appellee
Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
R.A. Bartolomei
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Grundy County, Jeffrey L. Harris, District Associate Judge, and Bradley J. Harris, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Blane, S.J. Opinion by Blane, S.J. (13 pages)
A defendant challenges on appeal, after trial to the court on the minutes, the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence of a gun found during an inventory search of his vehicle, and failure to suppress his refusal to take a breathalyzer test due to a claimed violation of his statutory right to make phone calls pursuant Iowa Code section 804.20 (2016). OPINION HOLDS: The district court properly denied the motion to suppress: when it determined (1) the evidence of gun was admissible based on ultimate discovery rule; and (2) the officer complied with the requirements of section 804.20 and, even if the officer failed to comply, not suppressing evidence of denial of breathalyzer was harmless error in light of other overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s intoxication.