Opinion ID: 1859463
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Promises, Threats or Inducements

Text: ¶ 8. The evidence shows that Mixon's statements were given without threats, coercion, or offer of reward. Transcripts of the three audiotapes were entered into evidence. In the first statement, Mixon claimed that Wallace Root Hanes shot and killed Lemus, that Hanes had stolen Hiersch's gun on a previous day, and that he could show the police where Hanes had thrown the gun into a river. ¶ 9. At the end of the statement, Mixon said that he had contemplated suicide because he knew that he was in a desperate situation. He stated, But I know I am [in a desperate situation] and ah to be honest with you, I don't give a fk if you blow my brains out right now. I don't care. Lt. Burleson responded, That's not going to happen, and that the law enforcement officers were there to protect him. Lt. Burleson asked Mixon not to get anybody else involved in the situation because Mixon had been through the system before and Mixon should not want anyone he cared about to have to go through the same experience. Mixon then stated that if Lt. Burleson would allow him to make a telephone call, I'll tell you the whole fg story word for word and you can take it to the bank and I can go show you where the gun is at. Lt. Burleson agreed to allow Mixon to make a telephone call to Hiersch if Mixon allowed Lt. Burleson to be present during the call. Mixon agreed. Lt. Burleson then told Mixon he would allow him to call Hiersch after Mixon gave another statement. [1] The following discourse then took place: Mixon: Will you let me talk to her before? It's not going to change the way I feel. I just want to set some ground rules for her. Burleson: I don't want to make any promises to you. Okay. And I don't want you to make a promise to me. Mixon: I will. I wouldn't make a promise to you anyway. Burleson: Do you understand what I am saying? I don't want to make a promise because I cannot make a promise. Mixon: I can make a promise to you but I'm going to get the fg chair because you know that I know and Mr. Fayard knows but I need you to let me talk to her just once. Burleson: We will let you talk to her. Fayard: Are you worried not being able to talk to her after making a statement? Is [that] what you are saying? Mixon: (Crying.) I'm just scared, man. Burleson: I'll let you make. I'm [going to] let you talk to her and this is on tape. Okay. This tape that you ... have given me points [out] the impression I'm getting now [that there is] a lot of bt on it. Mixon: Yeah.... ¶ 10. The second tape was begun at 12:58 a.m. on July 10. The Miranda rights were once again read to Mixon, who stated that he understood his rights. Mixon agreed that this statement was the second statement he had given that night. He went to the Fire Dog to try to make some more money shooting pool. After shooting pool with Lemus for a while, they left the Fire Dog and began walking down a dirt road in back. Mixon confessed that he shot Lemus twice with the gun he had in his front right pocket and then took Lemus' wallet. While running away, he took the money out and threw the wallet away. He did not want to go home because Hiersch would know that something was wrong. At the end of the statement Mixon said that no promises or threats were made in return for the statement and that the statement was given of his own free will. The statement was concluded at 1:15 a.m. ¶ 11. After Mixon was returned to Bay St. Louis by Lt. Burleson, he gave a third statement at 7:02 p.m. on July 10th. The Miranda rights were once again read to him, and Mixon stated that he understood his rights. Mixon said that the gun was thrown into the canal in Metairie. [2] He also stated that after he and Lemus left the Fire Dog, they went to the Blue Parrot. He also confirmed that he had talked to the limousine driver. The statement was concluded at 7:09 p.m. ¶ 12. In contesting the admissibility of these three statements, Mixon claims that the statements given in Louisiana were involuntary due to (1) harassment and physical violence, (2) he was left alone in the room with Lt. Burleson, who paused the tape recorder after the questioning began, and who threatened Mixon verbally and physically coerced him during the pauses, and Mixon's independent investigator found that the first tape had 17 minutes, 38 seconds of unaccounted for time and that the second tape had 3 minutes, 21 seconds of unaccounted for time; (3) threats to involve Hiersch, promises to leave her alone, and promises to allow Mixon to see her one last time before he was transported to Bay St. Louis; (4) Mixon had been up all night and had been grilled by Lt. Burleson for three hours prior to giving the statement; and (5) the transcripts of the statements were incorrect. Mixon finally claims that the third statement given in Bay St. Louis was fruit from the first two statements. ¶ 13. There is absolutely no evidence in the record to support Mixon's uncorroborated claim of harassment and physical violence. Time after time during the statements, Mixon stated that he was giving the statements voluntarily. In fact, during the first statement, when Mixon said that he wanted to kill himself, Lt. Burleson stated, in essence, that Mixon should not consider that course of action and that he would not be harmed in any way. Mixon saw Hiersch within hours after he gave the first two statements, and even though she testified at trial on Mixon's behalf, defense counsel never asked her if Mixon was physically injured in any way. Surely her testimony in this regard would have been strong evidence in support of his claim. Even though Mixon claimed that the audiotape was paused at different places during the interviews so that Lt. Burleson could use physical coercion against him and his expert claimed that there was unaccounted for time on the audiotapes, Mixon admits that he did not pursue this defense because if he raised such a claim, the State was prepared to counter with an expert report which stated that there were no interruptions in the audiotape. The merits of Mixon's allegations concerning audiotape tampering are discussed and found to be without merit below. ¶ 14. As to Mixon's claim of promises given to induce a statement, a review of the transcript of the first statement shows that Mixon first asked that Lt. Burleson do him a favor by allowing him to talk to Hiersch. He later admitted that no one had promised him anything to give his statement. Lt. Burleson twice stated that he could not make any promises to Mixon in return for Mixon's giving a statement. In the second statement, Mixon reiterated that he had not given the statement in exchange for any promises given by Lt. Burleson. ¶ 15. Mixon claims that he had been up all night the previous night and that Lt. Burleson grilled him for three hours prior to giving the statements. First, a clear reading of the transcripts does not support Mixon's claim that the statements were involuntary due to fatigue. The conversation flowed between Lt. Burleson and Mixon, and the progression of the conversations was logical and reflects normal statements and responses between the two men. At no time did Mixon complain that he was too tired to continue. ¶ 16. As for the claim that Lt. Burleson grilled Mixon for three hours prior to the first statement, Lt. Burleson testified that, while he was in Bay St. Louis, he first heard that Mixon was arrested at about 7:10 p.m. on July 9th in Metairie. He left Bay St. Louis at about 8:45 p.m., and, while he could not remember exactly when he arrived in Metairie, he thought it could have been from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. [When I arrived at the Jefferson Parish Jail, an investigator advised me] that Joshua Mixon ha[d] been asking to talk to me, and that he wouldn't eat, and wanted to see if I could get him to eat. So I then went in, talked to him briefly about he had to get something in his stomach, he had been up all night. I had been up all night. And I'm not sure if he finally ate or what, but I think he told me that he would eat something. I left the room. This interaction occurred about 10:45 p.m. The next contact Lt. Burleson had with Mixon was at 11:53 p.m., when Lt. Burleson began his interrogation. ¶ 17. Mixon makes much of the fact that in the first suppression hearing, Lt. Burleson testified that he arrived in Metairie at 8:45 p.m. and that he talked with Mixon until the tape recorder was turned on for the first statement. However, at trial, Lt. Burleson corrected himself and testified that he did not leave Bay St. Louis until 8:45 p.m. The only support for Mixon's claim of a three-hour grilling prior to giving his statement is the discrepancy between Lt. Burleson's testimony during the suppression hearing and at trial. At trial, Lt. Burleson corrected himself and gave very positive, convincing testimony about the actual time he arrived in Metairie and the limited contact he had with Mixon prior to the first statement being given. This one discrepancy is insufficient to prove Mixon's claim of a three-hour grilling.