UPDATES MONDAY, APRIL 8:
3:48 P.M.
Riley was sentenced to six months probation and 10 days in jail.
He has to meet the following conditions:
- DUI classes
- 50 hour of community service
- Vehicle impounded
- License suspended for 6 months
- Will have random breaths tests
- Fines and court costs
Riley has 30 days to appeal his conviction. He has one day of earned credit for jail time.
Watch how the second day of the trial played out on the WTXL Tallahassee Facebook page below:
3:38 P.M.
Calvin Riley was found guilty of DUI.
2:10 P.M.
The defense presented closing arguments. The jury was sent to deliberate. The defense asked fora mistrial. The judge did not grant a mistrial. Court went into recess until a verdict is reached.
1:33 P.M.
The jury was called back in to to be read jury instructions. The defense rested.
12:53 P.M.
Riley will not testify. The defense had no other witnesses. Defense rested on the record. Then went into jury instructions.
12:05 P.M.
The judge granted the defense's request to drop the charge of driving under a suspended license knowingly.
11:56 A.M.
The state said there is enough evidence and points out that the notice was sent by the Florida Department of Highway Vehicles. And as law, it was sent to the last known address. The state said they have proven that the notice was sent to an address that Riley provided or acknowledged was his.
11:51 A.M.
The defense asked for an acquittal of one of two charges. The defense said the state has not provided enough evidence for the suspended license charge. Riley's license was suspended for not having a certain required insurance in Florida called PIP. The defense said there is no proof a notice was sent to Riley. Thus, not proving he was aware the license was suspended. The charge for Riley is that he was knowingly driving with a suspended license. Riley said during the arrest he did not know his license was suspended.
11:46 A.M.
During cross examination by the defense, Smith said by the time he showed up, Riley was already arrested. Smith said Riley was cooperative. The defense asked Smith if during the transition of Riley from Oliver to Mueth cars: He didn’t fall, stumble, and get in the vehicle with no issues. Smith confirmed with, “Yes sir.” Smith also contended Riley was able to dial on the phone with no issues. Smith said he cannot remember what was talked about when their body camera footage was turned off.
11:35 A.M.
The state called the next witness TPD Sgt. Brian Smith. Smith started with TPD in December of 2008. He has not received training for DUI from TPD. But he has responded to DUIs as backups. Smith was the third officer to respond Riley's incident.
11:00 A.M.
Mueth said her laughing during parts of the investigation was a mistake. Mueth said she did not use the vodka bottle as evidence in the DUI charge. The defense asked her again if that’s her testimony that she did not use the vodka bottle as evidence in the DUI charge. Mueth said that is her testimony.
10:55 A.M.
Mueth admitted that during the initial arrest she only told Riley he was arrested for a suspended license and repeats her earlier statement that she thought he would infer he was under arrest for DUI and the suspended license due to her doing the field sobriety test and she’s not required to list out all charges to the person being arrested.
10:47 A.M.
Defense asked again if Mueth's testimony today is that at the initial time of arrest, he was arrested for a suspended license and DUI. Mueth responded yes. The defense played the body-worn footage. Mueth told the defense, “I’m not required to list out all the charges he is arrested for.” She said she thought he would infer he was under arrest for DUI and the suspended license due to her doing the field sobriety test. Jury came back to courtroom.
10:46 A.M.
The jury was asked to leave the courtroom. They will not be in the room for this questioning due to some evidence being shown that was suppressed in earlier hearings.
10:41 A.M.
The defense asked Mueth if Riley was under arrest for a suspended license. Mueth said, “Yes and DUI’. The defense asked Mueth if it's her testimony today is that at the initial time of the arrest he was arrested for suspended license and DUI. Mueth responded yes. Another sidebar happened.
10:34 A.M.
The defense told Mueth it’s not illegal to have drinks, be fine, and drive. Mueth said that’s correct. It’s only illegal if you are impaired. Mueth said she did not observe the swerving of Riley. She admitted Officer Oliver said she was unsure of some indicators of DUI. Mueth said that’s why she was called.
9:48 A.M.
Mueth said during the investigation they are required to have body camera footage on. That does not apply to when they are discussing tactics.
9:41 A.M.
Mueth said she assumed the vodka bottle was open, and that is why, in her report, she listed it as open. The bottle was closed, and Oliver opened it as seen on body camera footage. Mueth said the vodka bottle was not a major part of the DUI charge. Signs of impairment, admission of being at a bar, and the open container in the car are what primarily led her to the conclusion of the DUI charge.
9:11 A.M.
Mueth said that based on her training when she sees an open bottle/container with alcohol it indicates they were actively drinking and driving. The closed bottle can indicate once they are done with the open drink they can drink the closed drink.
9:00 A.M.
Mueth said you can see Riley with a wristband in his hand. She said that’s considered an indicator during a DUI investigation.
8:52 A.M.
Mueth said Riley coming from Pocket was an indicator he had been drinking or consuming alcohol. Also bars close at 2 a.m. which is around when the stop happened. Mueth said she could smell the odor of alcoholic beverages. She said she’s received training to identify alcohol smell in the field.
8:49 A.M.
Body camera footage was shown from Mueth body-worn footage.
8:47 A.M.
First sidebar: The defense had an objection regarding the body camera footage. Friday was riddled with so many pauses that the first witness couldn’t get on the stand until 2 p.m. causing the trial to go into Monday.
8:42 A.M.
Officer Mueth described the night of the incident. Mueth was at South Monroe and Magnolia before she got called over the South Monroe and Laura Lee where Riley was pulled over by Officer Oliver. Mueth said Oliver called her over for the incident. She became the primary officer. Oliver said Riley had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Oliver said Riley said he was coming from Pockets, a local bar.
8:40 A.M.
Mueth detailed her experience in law enforcement. It’s more than Officer Oliver. The state asked her about her training. She pointed out her DUI training. She joined TPD in the Summer of 2022.
8:38 a.m.
Jury entered the courtroom. The Judge asked if anyone has seen or heard anything about the case. No one has. The state called TPD Officer Margaret Mueth to the stand.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Watch the first 8 hours of the trial below.
BACKGROUND:
A Tallahassee man is on trial for DUI and driving with a suspended license. Calvin Riley was arrested on South Monroe Street on May 7, 2023.
A Tallahassee Police Officer involved in Riley's arrest is accused of misconduct. Portions of body cam video, first reported by Our Tallahassee, are now viral showing a TPD officer pouring a liquid out of a sealed bottle from Calvin Riley’s car. The officer pouring out the liquid has been identified as Tallahassee Police Department Officer Kiersten Oliver.
TPD said in a statement they are aware of portions of body-worn cameras circulating on social media. “We have thoroughly reviewed the incident and did not find any evidence of misconduct," TPD said in a statement on social media.
LIVE UPDATES:
6:30 P.M.
Court has adjourned for the day. Court will resume at 8 a.m. Monday. Watch Shamarria Morrison's report from ABC 27 news at 6 on what happened in court. She talks one-on-one with the man accused of DUI. The officer involved in his arrest also spoke during the trial.
5:00 P.M.
ABC 27's Shamarria Morrison is tracking the trial. She was live on ABC 27 News at 5. Watch her report below:
3:14 P.M.
The defense said they would not be opposed to extending to Monday. The state also agreed. The judge said he had never, in his 20 years of being on the bench, experienced anything like Friday. He referred to the timeline of events. Only one witness had been brought in and only a few questions have been asked of them.
3:12 P.M.
Three state witnesses still needed to go according to the judge. This did not not include any defense witnesses and rebuttals. The judge said the jury would likely not get the case until 7 p.m. based on current events. The judge asked if the state and defense would like to extend the case to Monday if the jury is available.
3:09 P.M.
The court was been in and out of recess due to the body camera footage not being properly redacted by the state. The judge had to review the video to tell the state what video needed to be redacted.
The state then said its I.T. department was cutting the video correctly. After the video was cut to what the judge ordered both the defense and the officers in the case had to review for accuracy before testimony of Officer Oliver could resume.
1:17 P.M.
The state called Tallahassee Police Department Officer Kiersten Oliver to the stand.
1:14 P.M.
The judge said there was no discovery violation.
1:04 P.M.
Jurors are not back yet, because a Richardson hearing is happening due to claims of a potential discovery violation.
11:07 A.M.
The judge ruled lunch break until 1 p.m. for jurors. Court starts back at 12:30 p.m.
11:04 A.M.
The defense contends, during open arguments, that Officer Oliver planted evidence to get a DUI charge and that Riley was not aware his license was suspended
10:56 A.M.
The State, during opening arguments, said Officer Oliver did make a mistake thinking TPD policy was to pour out the bottle.
10:07 A.M.
The state said they plan to call Tallahassee Police Department Officer Kiersten Oliver. Previously only her deposition was supposed to be used. The state said she had a medical reason not to come.
The defense said they need time to talk, because they did not know about this. The judge gave 5 minutes to confer.
9:46 A.M.
The judge said juror 4 will stay. The judge said juror 6 will be stricken. An alternate juror will be put into his place.
9:43 A.M.
The defense said a portion of the deposition being released is not an issue, because jurors didn’t say they saw it.
9:38 A.M.
The state responded and said this case now has both national and international exposure. The said a deposition released online should not have been shared. The state is referring to the videos released in the Our Tallahassee article. The state asked for a new jury to be selected. The judge said it might be difficult to select a new jury at this point.
9:35 A.M.
The Big Bend Police Police Benevolent Association issued a statement Friday before the trial began. Big Bend PBA President Richard Murphy said in part:
"This outrageous story published yesterday, the day before the suspect's trial begins, can serve no other purpose than to taint the jury pool by vilifying our police officer. We call for an immediate investigation into how the officer's body cam footage was leaked to this reporter in an attempt to interfere with an official court proceeding. We are also exploring our legal options to prevent further jury tampering in future cases involving our members."
9:32 A.M.
The state said they can’t move forward with this jury due to media coverage. The defense disagreed and said although some jurors did see evidence they could still be impartial.
9:14 A.M.
The jury was brought out one by one and asked if they had inadvertently seen any media reports about this case or had any family members or friends ask them about the case.
Juror 1: No
Juror 2: No
Juror 3: No
Juror 4: Didn’t look anything up but he said he did see media reports. The juror said he saw a video. The video he saw was body cam footage and did have audio in it. He didn’t realize it had something to do with his case. He said he eventually realized it was about the case. On social media, he said he saw “a good portion of it.”
State: Asked if he saw a video with a journalist narrating.
Juror 4: Said he saw a video that said “TPD officer plants evidence."
State: Asked can he be impartial.
Juror 4: He said he thinks so, because there could be more information.
Juror 5: No
Juror 6: The juror said he saw something at about 5 a.m. He said he saw evidence that would be presented in this case. He told the judge he saw a video of body cam footage. He said he saw a video of an officer putting something in a car. He also read the article. He said he saw the video from ABC27. He also said it answered questions he had about the case.
Juror 7: No
9:08 A.M.
The Judge denied the motion to dismiss the charges. The judge said a jury should decide what they believe happened on that day.
