NAJAM, Judge.
Mark Kolish appeals his conviction for operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of at least .15 gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters of his blood, a Class A misdemeanor, following a bench trial. He presents two issues for our review:
We affirm.
On June 9, 2009, at approximately 10:09 p.m., Kolish was operating a pickup truck in Pulaski County when Pulaski County Deputy Sheriff John Rogers observed Kolish drive his truck across the center line of the highway three times, twice nearly colliding with oncoming vehicles. Deputy Rogers initiated a traffic stop and observed that Kolish appeared intoxicated. In particular, Deputy Rogers smelled a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from the truck and Kolish's person; observed that Kolish's eyes were red and watery; and noticed that Kolish's speech was slurred. In addition, Deputy Rogers saw two coolers and several empty beer cans in the back of the truck. Kolish admitted to Deputy Rogers that he had consumed alcohol.
Deputy Rogers attempted to administer two field sobriety tests, but Kolish was unable to complete either test. Accordingly, Deputy Rogers advised Kolish of Indiana's implied consent law, and Kolish agreed to a certified chemical test of his blood alcohol content. Deputy Rogers transported Kolish to the Pulaski County Jail, but after they arrived Kolish began to "cough and belch intentionally." Appellant's App. at 5. Accordingly, Deputy Rogers transported Kolish to Pulaski Memorial Hospital for a blood test. After they arrived at the hospital, Kolish stated his refusal to submit to a blood draw.
Deputy Rogers then submitted a probable cause affidavit and obtained a search warrant authorizing and ordering the blood draw on Kolish. The results of the blood test showed that Kolish's blood alcohol concentration was .16%. On July 23, 2009, the State charged Kolish with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of at least .15 gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters of his blood, a Class A misdemeanor.
Kolish first contends that the trial court erred when it issued the search warrant to obtain his blood sample. In particular, Kolish maintains that Deputy Rogers' probable cause affidavit is devoid of any reference to the date or time of the deputy's alleged observations of Kolish. Thus, Kolish claims that "there simply are no facts to support a finding that the trial court had a substantial basis to believe that alcohol would still be in Kolish's blood at the time the search warrant was issued." Brief of Appellant at 8. We cannot agree.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution require that search warrants be supported by probable cause. See Combs v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1252, 1255 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), trans. denied. In deciding whether to issue a search warrant, "[t]he task of the issuing magistrate is simply to make a practical, commonsense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit. . . there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place." Query v. State, 745 N.E.2d 769, 771 (Ind.2001) (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)). The duty of the reviewing court is to determine whether the magistrate had a "substantial basis" for concluding that probable cause existed. Id. It is clear that a substantial basis requires the reviewing court, with significant deference to the magistrate's determination, to focus on whether reasonable inferences drawn from the totality of the evidence support the determination of probable cause. Id. A "reviewing court" for these purposes includes both the trial court ruling on a motion to suppress and an appellate court reviewing that decision. Id. In this review, we consider only the evidence presented to the issuing magistrate and not post hoc justifications for the search. Id.
Again, Kolish's sole contention on this issue is that the probable cause affidavit makes no reference to the date or time that Deputy Rogers observed Kolish. While the affidavit is not dated and does not refer to a specific time of day, Deputy Rogers does state the following with regard to the time of the alleged crime:
Appellant's App. at 34 (emphases added). We agree with the State that Deputy Rogers adequately informed the magistrate that at the time he submitted the probable cause affidavit, there was a fair probability
Further, this court has held that "using a common sense approach, [a probable cause] affidavit and [a search] warrant may be read together where there is a sufficient relationship between the two documents to justify testing the sufficiency of one with some reference to the other." Foster v. State, 633 N.E.2d 337, 343 (Ind. Ct.App.1994). Here, the search warrant was issued at 12:10 a.m. on June 10, 2009, within a couple of hours of Kolish's arrest, and the probable cause affidavit was filed contemporaneous with the issuance of the warrant. On these facts, when the affidavit and warrant are read together, the absence of the date and time on the affidavit is not fatal to the probable cause determination. And we hold that the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed to issue the search warrant.
Kolish contends that the blood test results were inadmissible on two grounds, namely, the failure of the health care provider to follow the hospital's protocol in drawing the blood sample and that the health care provider was not authorized to perform the blood draw under Indiana Code Section 9-30-6-6(j). We address each contention in turn.
Our standard of review of rulings on the admissibility of evidence is essentially the same whether the challenge is made by a pre-trial motion to suppress or by trial objection. Widduck v. State, 861 N.E.2d 1267, 1269 (Ind.Ct.App.2007). We do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Id.
Indiana Code Section 9-30-6-6(a) sets out the foundational requirements for the admission of chemical tests on blood and states as follows:
(Emphasis added).
Here, the evidence shows that the hospital's protocol for collecting blood samples pursuant to a police investigation states in relevant part that "Laboratory personnel drawing the blood will use PVP Iodine 10% USP, or any appropriate non-alcohol skin cleaner, to prep the arm. No alcohol preps will be used." Appellant's App. at 98. On appeal, Kolish directs us to the deposition testimony of the health care provider, Judith Joseph, that she had used an alcohol skin cleaner to prep Kolish's arm before drawing the blood sample. But on cross-examination at the suppression hearing, Joseph testified that she "didn't remember" what she had used to prep Kolish's arm. Suppression Hearing Transcript at 113. Kolish argues that Joseph's equivocal testimony on which preparation was used undermines her testimony that she followed the hospital's protocol during the blood draw.
Kolish next contends that Joseph is not a person listed in Indiana Code Section 9-30-6-6(j) and was not, therefore, authorized to draw his blood for the chemical test. Section 9-30-6-6(j) in effect at the time of Kolish's arrest provided in relevant part that
However, our Legislature recently amended this statute by adding the following sentence: "This subsection does not apply to a bodily substance sample taken at a licensed hospital (as defined in IC 16-18-2-179(a) and IC 16-18-2-179(b))." Id. (West 2010). Here, there is no dispute that Kolish's blood sample was taken at a licensed hospital. And this court has recently held that the 2010 amendment to the statute applies retroactively without violating Indiana's prohibition against ex post facto laws. See Boston v. State, 947 N.E.2d 436, 443-44 (Ind.Ct.App.2011). We agree with the panel decision in Boston. Accordingly, we are not persuaded by Kolish's contention that Joseph was not authorized by statute to perform the blood draw. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted the blood test results into evidence.
Affirmed.
ROBB, C.J., and CRONE, J., concur.