Replies

(From your link) STATEMENT OF THE CASE On May 21, 2000 Humboldt County Deputy Sheriff Lee Dove received a call from the Humboldt County Sheriff ’s Dispatch. Deputy Dove was informed that an individual called and stated he had observed a man hit a woman inside a red and silver GMC truck on Grass Valley Road in Humboldt County, Nevada. Deputy Dove drove his patrol vehicle south on Grass Valley Road and stopped his vehicle near the intersection of Thomas Canyon and Grass Valley Road. He had a brief conversation with the reporting person, Mr. Riddley. Mr. Riddley informed Deputy Dove that he was the person who made the call and pointed in a direction down the road where the vehicle was located. (App. 9). Deputy Dove then drove further south on Grass Valley Road where he observed a red and silver GMC truck pulled off to the side of the road. He noticed skid marks in the gravel, leading Deputy Dove to believe that the truck had been pulled off the road in a fast and aggressive manner. When Deputy Dove got out of his vehicle he saw a male, Larry Dudley Hiibel, (hereinafter referred to as Hiibel) standing outside the truck. Due to Hiibel’s mannerisms while standing outside the truck, Deputy Dove believed Hiibel was intoxicated. (App. 9-10, 16-17).

he had observed a man hit a woman inside a red and silver GMC truck

I read that. I hope that we can both agree that eyewitness' tend to be one of the least reliable types of evidence. If I hadn't read that Hiibel's daughter says that she was doing the driving and the hitting, I probably would move towards your position. But since she does, my guess (and yes, that's all that it is) is that Mr. Riddley saw some hitting going on and made the (usually correct) assumption that it was the man doing the hitting.