Opinion
No. K88-835.
August 25, 1988.
APPEAL FROM 11TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, PARISH OF SABINE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, HONORABLE JOHN S. PICKETT, JR., J.
William D. Dyess, Many, for applicant.
Don Burkett, Dist. Atty., Many, for respondent.
Before FORET, LaBORDE and KNOLL, JJ.
WRIT GRANTED AND MADE PEREMPTORY: Relator's conviction and sentence for driving while intoxicated is reversed and set aside. The trial court found the evidence established that the defendant was a passenger in the vehicle at the time it entered the ditch. The state failed to meet its burden of proof that the defendant operated the vehicle while it was lodged in the ditch such that the record does not exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. State v. Sims, 426 So.2d 148 (La. 1983).