Columbia man gets new trial for assault charges

A Columbia man was granted a new trial on Tuesday after the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District ruled that a blood sample used in court was obtained illegally.

Nathaniel Osborn was convicted of two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly running a red light in February 2015, which resulted in a car crash where a mother and daughter were taken to the hospital. A witness at the scene said he could smell beer coming from Osborn’s car.

While at the hospital, Officer Nathan Turner with the Columbia Police Department asked Osborn if he could take a breath test. Because Osborn injured his tongue in the crash, he was unable to give verbal consent and instead consented to the breath test by giving a thumbs up hand signal. The breath test showed alcohol was present in his system.

Turner then asked a nurse to get a blood sample from Osborn without reading implied consent to Osborn. Turner later got a search warrant for the hospital’s emergency records which included a toxicology report indicating the alcohol level in Osborn’s blood was above the legal limit.

Osborn’s attorneys submitted motions to suppress evidence and testimony related to the warrantless blood draw, but the Boone County Circuit Court overruled those motions. Osborn also moved for acquittal, and the court denied that motion as well.

The appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the “evidence of the warrantless blood draw was the product of an illegal search.” The court reversed the circuit court’s judgment and granted Osborn a new trial.

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