State v. Mr. H (DMC 15877) – Felony Tampering with Evidence – Dismissed (with Classes) – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2018-138288): Mr. H had been arrested for misdemeanor DUI and had been taken to the police station. After the police had drawn two vials of his blood and packaged them both in a single box, they informed Mr. H that he could get an Independent Test of his blood if he wished to challenge the State’s results. He was also told that the second vial would be available for him to get tested. Mr. H became confused, and thought that the box with both vials of blood contained his own sample to take with him. He put the box in his pocket and left with it when he was released from the police station.
Ultimately, the police contacted him and informed him that he had taken their samples of blood. They claim that he had denied that he had taken the blood samples, and then they produced videotape evidence showing that he had. He was ultimately arrested and charged with felony Tampering with Evidence. We were then hired by Mr. H to represent him on the felony, and not on the underlying misdemeanor DUI (in which he already had an attorney). Ultimately, we were able to have the Prosecutor agree that this was a mistake and that they could lose at trial. They then allowed the case to be Dismissed upon successful completion of classes for alcohol consumption by Mr. H.