State v. Phoenix

Hildebrandt, Presiding Judge.

{¶ 1} The lack of a sufficient amount of evidence demonstrating impairment precludes a finding of probable cause that a driver is operating his motor vehicle while impaired and makes any subsequent arrest — based only on that insufficient evidence — improper.

*129I. Unlit Headlights Lead to Stop and Arrest

{¶ 2} On August 2, 2009, at about 10:30 PM, Sergeant Matthew Hamilton of the Ohio State Highway Patrol observed defendant-appellant Kristopher Phoenix driving without his headlights illuminated on River Road in Cincinnati. Phoenix’s running lights and taillights,…