Opinion ID: 1269334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Defendant Paige's objection to introduction of bracelet

Text: Although defendant Paige's argument on this issue is poorly focused in his brief, it appears that his objection is to the adequacy of the voir dire hearing on admissibility of a bracelet. The bracelet was seized from Paige at the time of his arrest on 10 February 1983 on an unrelated charge of armed robbery. The testimony of the State's witnesses on voir dire supported findings made by the trial judge as follows: That on February 10th Officer Garnes got another officer and a private citizen of Stanly County to meet with the defendant Paige; that during this meeting Officer Kearney had a mike and that the conversation was recorded by Officer Garnes; that during the course of the conversation between the undercover agent, the private citizen, and the defendant Paige, by the officer's efforts liquor was obtained, wine was obtained, marijuana was obtained; that the undercover agent and the private citizen stated they had just done a lick, to wit, an armed robbery; that they also talked about having sex with other persons; that at that time the defendant Paige was a suspect in the armed robbery and the alleged rape and kidnapping; that Officer Garnes wanted to obtain information from the defendant Paige and the one that instigated the undercover activity; that during the course of the conversation between the undercover agent and the defendant, the defendant admitted that he had robbed the theater on Saturday night; that this was sometime during the late afternoon of February 10th; that pursuant to this statement by the defendant that he had robbed the theater, Officer Garnes then placed the defendant under arrest; that when the officer told the defendant to place his hands on top of the vehicle, Officer Kearney noticed a gold bracelet on the defendant's wrist, and it appeared to fit the description of the bracelet taken from the victim in this case. The defendant contends that his arrest was illegal because it was based upon an illegally obtained confession to the armed robbery and that, as a result, the bracelet seized pursuant to the arrest was unlawfully seized. The defendant attempted to introduce into evidence during voir dire the tape recording referred to by Officer Garnes during his testimony. The trial judge excluded the tape, saying: I don't see that has one thing to do with your motion to suppress. The officer admitted that they went out and talked to him, they gave your client liquor, they bought marijuana for him. To hear what exact words was said I don't see it has any bearing whatsoever on the motion to suppress. The defendant Paige testified at the hearing, basically corroborating the account of the events preceding his arrest as related by the State's witnesses. He said that he had not in fact committed the robbery, but that he said he had because: I wanted it to seem if [sic] I had committed a robbery because they were making themselves look good as if they was actually outlaws, doing crimes and things, and I had heard the theater had been robbed and I wanted to make myself look good, you know. I wanted to be a big man, just like they were. They didn't prompt me to admit that particular robbery. It was my idea. The thrust of the defendant's argument at trial and here is that his confession was obtained without Miranda warnings, after suspicion had focused on him, and in violation of his right to counsel. The defendant further contends that [a]ny statement given by the defendant must be freely and intelligently given without coercion, duress or fraud. We hold that the trial judge did not err in refusing to allow introduction of the tape recording and in denying the defendant Paige's motion to suppress the bracelet. Given the situation described by all witnesses, including the defendant, neither the defendant's right to receive warnings prior to custodial interrogation, Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), nor his right to assistance of counsel when the State seeks to elicit incriminating information following arrest, United States v. Henry, 447 U.S. 264, 100 S.Ct. 2183, 65 L.Ed. 2d 115 (1980), was implicated. The trial judge was correct in concluding that nothing contained in the recording would bear upon any question raised by the defendant regarding the application of Miranda or Henry, for the State admitted that no warnings were given before and the defendant did not have counsel at the time of his confession. Neither was required, for, as the trial court concluded: [A]t no time during the conversation between the defendant and the undercover agent and the private citizen was the defendant under arrest; ... he was free to go at any time he wanted to, but ... the defendant voluntarily remained in the presence of the undercover agent. On the further question of whether the confession was obtained by coercion, duress or fraud, we note that the defendant himself testified that he admitted to the robbery to make himself look good, not because of any coercion or duress. Furthermore, a defendant against whom no criminal proceedings have been initiated does not have a constitutional right to protection against police tactics which merely amount to trickery. Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 87 S.Ct. 408, 17 L.Ed.2d 374 (1966). See also State v. Jackson, 308 N.C. 549, 304 S.E.2d 134 (1983). The defendant is not, by the assignments of error directed to this issue, objecting to the introduction of his confession into evidence before the jury. The confession was clearly sufficient to establish probable cause justifying the defendant's arrest. The bracelet was seized in plain view during the course of a valid arrest; therefore, it was admissible against the defendant at his trial upon a showing of its relevancy in the instant case. State v. Legette, 292 N.C. 44, 231 S.E.2d 896 (1977).