Opinion ID: 1161008
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: suppression of defendant's pretrial statements

Text: The first set of issues involves the defendant's claim that the trial court erred in failing to suppress his statements to the police. The defendant argues that Detective Johnson in Oklahoma tricked him by pretending to be his friend and that Detective Johnson and Landwehr badgered, threatened, and coerced him and made assertions that he would be forced to go to Wichita and face the friends of Copridge who might do him harm, and if he confessed, he would be allowed to stay in Oklahoma. He also contends that the conduct of Detective Johnson after he had invoked his right to remain silent was the functional equivalent of interrogation. He further asserts that several comments made by him during the interrogation constituted a request that the questioning cease or that counsel be provided. He requests that this court adopt a rule that any unrecorded conversation between a defendant and a police officer requires suppression of any statement given by the defendant, whether voluntary or not. Finally, the defendant claims that the statements were the product of an illegal stop. We begin with the claim by the defendant that the sheriff of Okmulgee had no reasonable, articulable suspicion to pull the car over in which the defendant was riding and, thus, any statements given after that point by the defendant should be suppressed. We find no merit in this contention. At the time the defendant was stopped, the sheriff had knowledge that the BMW had been stolen from a murder victim in Wichita, the defendant had stolen the vehicle based on a report from his father, the defendant had parked the vehicle in a motel parking lot, and the defendant would be returning to obtain the BMW while riding with an older white female. It is clear the sheriff of Okmulgee had a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the person in the car was in fact the defendant and, thus, involved in criminal activity, vis., the possession of a stolen vehicle. Therefore, the sheriff of Okmulgee had probable cause to arrest the defendant. See K.S.A. 22-2402(1); United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 83 L. Ed.2d 604, 105 S. Ct. 675 (1985); State v. Johnson, 253 Kan. 356, 368, 856 P.2d 134 (1993). The evidence does not support the defendant's contention that Detective Johnson tricked the defendant or that he was coerced, badgered, or threatened by the Wichita police officers. Recently, in State v. Banks, 260 Kan. 918, 923, 927 P.2d 456 (1996), we stated: `Under the Fourteenth Amendment due process voluntariness test, a caseby-case evaluation approach is employed to determine whether coercion was impermissibly used in obtaining a confession. Coercion in obtaining a confession from an accused can be mental as well as physical. In determining the voluntariness of a confession of crime, the question in each case is whether the defendant's will was overborne at the time of the confession; if so, the confession cannot be deemed the product of a rational intellect and a free will' (quoting State v. Waugh, 238 Kan. 537, 541, 712 P.2d 1243 [1986]). The facts relevant in deciding whether a confession is a product of free will of an accused include (1) the accused's mental condition; (2) the manner and duration of the interrogation; (3) the ability of the accused on request to communicate with the outside world; (4) the accused's age, intellect, and background, and (5) the fairness of the officers in conducting the interrogation. 260 Kan. at 923. A statement may be considered voluntary if the accused was not deprived of his free choice to admit, deny, or refuse to answer. 260 Kan. at 923-24. Voluntariness of a confession is determined from the totality of the circumstances, and where a trial court conducts a full prehearing on the admissibility of extrajudicial statements by an accused, determines the statements were freely and voluntarily given, and admits the statements into evidence at trial, appellate courts should accept that determination if supported by substantial competent evidence and not attempt to reweigh the evidence. 260 Kan. at 923. The defendant claims that the detectives used Detective Johnson as a Trojan horse to befriend the defendant and then entice him into a confession. However, the activity of Detective Johnson, from our reading of the record, fails to support the defendant's contention. It is undisputed that he told the defendant he knew the defendant's relatives. Also, during the interrogation of the defendant, Johnson encouraged the defendant to tell the truth and not to be afraid of Copridge. Such activity falls far short of the activity in cases cited supporting the defendant's contention. See Span v. New York, 360 U.S. 315, 318-19, 3 L. Ed.2d 1265, 79 S. Ct. 1202 (1959); People v. Blasingame, 412 N.Y.S.2d 153, 65 A.2d 455 (1978); Macon v. Commonwealth, 187 Va. 363, 46 S.E.2d 396 (1948). In Spano, the police denied the suspect's continued request for an attorney. In Blasingame, the suspect was a 17-year-old boy who was in custody for 13 hours and questioned by an officer who was a friend of the family and who was further denied an opportunity to consult with an attorney. In Macon, the sheriff enticed the suspect to take a car ride with him, whereupon the sheriff and the district attorney, both of whom the suspect had known well for 20 years, advised her that the best thing for her to do would be to confess that she had killed her ex-boyfriend. In this case, Detective Johnson denied the defendant's contention that he kept trying to get him to talk to the other detectives or that he told him his relatives would be disappointed if he did not talk. We are not in a position to reweigh the evidence, and the trial court, based upon substantial competent evidence, determined that Detective Johnson's statements were more credible. The defendant also contends that Detective Johnson's conduct was deceptive and that it promised leniency in order to coerce his confession. He relies on State v. Thaggard, 527 N.W.2d 804 (Minn. 1995). In Thaggard, the Minnesota Supreme Court noted that the use of trickery and deceit by police officers may invite suppression when the police used promises in seeking to persuade a suspect to confess to a crime. However, the court in Thaggard found no coercion where the suspect was not promised he would be free of prosecution if he confessed. 527 N.W.2d at 811-12. While the defendant argued that he was subjected to false promises, a review of the record reveals no such promises were made. Based upon the totality of circumstances, including the fact that the defendant was not in a mental condition which would be more susceptible to coercion; the interrogation was not overly long or overly coercive; there was no suggestion that the ability of the accused to request to communicate with the outside world was compromised; or that the defendant's age, intellect, or background played any part in his confession, we conclude that the trial court's determination that the statements were voluntary is supported by substantial competent evidence. As for the defendant's claim that Detective Johnson's statements were the functional equivalent of interrogation, the testimony was conflicting. While the defendant claimed that Detective Johnson attempted to get him to talk about the case and told the defendant that his family would be disappointed if he did not talk about the case, Detective Johnson denied he engaged in any such conduct. Instead, Detective Johnson stated that he came back in the room to get coffee, at which point the defendant asked to talk to him about the case. In determining whether the trial court's determination on a motion to suppress is supported by substantial competent evidence, an appellate court must accept as true the evidence and all inferences to be drawn therefrom supporting the finding of the trial court. State v. Straughter, 261 Kan. 481, 488, 932 P.2d 387 (1997). Applying this standard to the evidence, we conclude that the statements of Detective Johnson were not the functional equivalent of interrogation. The defendant claimed that Detective Johnson should have known that his coming into contact with the defendant would result in the defendant making an incriminating statement because both he and the defendant were black and because Detective Johnson had earlier indicated that he knew relatives of the defendant. However, such conduct is far removed from the authority cited by the defendant in Stewart v. United States, 668 A.2d 857 (D.C. 1995). In Stewart, the officer had known the defendant since his childhood and attended the defendant's church. The officer went to the defendant's cell, gave him words of encouragement by telling him that everyone makes mistakes, and then asked him if he wanted to talk about the crime. Under these circumstances, the court held that such action was the functional equivalent of interrogation. 668 A.2d at 867-68. There is no evidence in the record to support the conclusion that Detective Johnson's conduct or statements were the functional equivalent of interrogation within the meaning of Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 302-03, 64 L. Ed.2d 297, 100 S. Ct. 1682 (1980). Finally, the defendant asserts that he continued to invoke his rights during the interrogation but he fails to point to any exact statements he made. He does mention that at one point he told the officers to take him to Sedgwick County and another time to take him to the judge. He contends that several of his statements made during interrogation constitute requests that questioning cease or that counsel be provided. Our review of the defendant's taped statement revealed that at one point he stated: And since we're not getting anywhere I just ask you guys to go ahead and get this over with and go ahead and lock me up and let me go and deal with Sedgwick County, I'm ready to go to Sedgwick County, let's go. We have held that when a suspect makes a statement which may be ambiguous as to whether the suspect is asserting a right to remain silent or to confer with counsel, the interrogator may ask questions to clarify but it is not required by the interrogator to clarify, and the interrogator may continue questioning. State v. Morris, 255 Kan. 964, Syl. ¶ 4, 880 P.2d 1244 (1994). In this case, the defendant made no unequivocal statement that he wished to remain silent or confer with counsel. Thus, we conclude the trial court did not err in admitting the defendant's statements. Turning now to the defendant's argument that his statements should be inadmissible because the conversation with Detective Johnson prior to giving the statements was not recorded, we note that it has never been the law in Kansas that conversation between a suspect and a police officer during interrogation that is not recorded is not admissible. While other states have established such a bright line rule, see State v. Thaggard, 527 N.W.2d at 807, the majority of jurisdictions have specifically declined to adopt such a rule. See People v. Raibon, 843 P.2d 46, 48-49 (Colo. App. 1992); Coleman v. State, 189 Ga. App. 366, 375 S.E.2d 663 (1988); State v. Kekona, 77 Hawaii 403, 886 P.2d 740 (1994); State v. Rhoades, 121 Idaho 63, 73, 822 P.2d 960 (1991); People v. Everette, 187 Ill. App.3d 1063, 1075, 543 N.E.2d 1040 (1989); State v. Buzzell, 617 A.2d 1016, 1018 (Me. 1992); Commonwealth v. Fryar, 414 Mass. 732, 742 n.8, 610 N.E.2d 903 (1993); Williams v. State, 522 So.2d 201, 208 (Miss. 1988); Jimenez v. State, 105 Nev. 337, 775 P.2d 694 (1989); State v. Gorton, 149 Vt. 602, 606, 548 A.2d 419 (1988); State v. Spurgeon, 63 Wash. App. 503, 508-09, 820 P.2d 960 (1991). By this decision we adhere to and follow the majority rule.