Opinion ID: 1891504
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Simmons' Statements

Text: The trial judge denied Simmons' motion to suppress, determining that Simmons voluntarily submitted to the interrogation and, in the alternative, that the detectives had probable cause to detain Simmons for a custodial interrogation.
Simmons contends that, given the number of officers that surrounded his parents' Pine Lakes residence on December 7, 2001, a reasonable person in his position would not feel that he or she could decline the detectives' invitation to come to the sheriff's office. Further, Simmons contends that the fact that he was handcuffed and transported in the back of a caged, marked police cruiser belies the contention that he went voluntarily. In support of his argument, Simmons cites to Hayes v. Florida, 470 U.S. 811, 105 S.Ct. 1643, 84 L.Ed.2d 705 (1985). In Hayes, police approached a burglary-rape suspect on his front porch and asked him to come to the police station for fingerprinting. Id. at 812, 105 S.Ct. 1643. An investigator threatened to arrest the suspect if he did not comply. Id. The United States Supreme Court determined that Hayes' detention was not consensual, and it reversed the conviction and remanded the case because the police did not have probable cause to detain the suspect. Id. at 814, 817-18, 105 S.Ct. 1643. Unlike the defendant in Hayes, the uncontroverted testimony by the officers in this case indicates that Simmons never expressed any reluctance to accompany the detectives to the sheriff's office. The officers did not threaten Simmons with an arrest or try to coerce him in any way. These crucial factual differences distinguish Hayes from the present case. Although Simmons contends that a thundering herd of police officers would render any reasonable person unable to refuse the detectives' invitation, the record shows that most of these officers were not directly involved in any confrontation with Simmons or the conversation between Simmons, Detective Adams, and Detective Purdue. These two detectives were not in uniform and were not armed when they conducted the initial interview at Simmons' parents' home. Moreover, although Simmons was handcuffed and transported in the back of a caged police cruiser, the State presented evidence that these measures were taken for the safety of the police officers involved and that police removed the handcuffs as soon as Simmons reached the sheriff's office. Nothing in the record indicates that Simmons objected to being handcuffed or at any time expressed a desire to terminate the encounter. Our recognition of the propriety of using handcuffs in noncustodial encounters with police is in line with this Court's prior case law. See, e.g., Taylor v. State, 855 So.2d 1, 18 (Fla.2003) (holding that the use of handcuffs during a trip from a police cruiser to an interrogation room did not render a detention custodial when the suspect was told that he was not under arrest). Under the totality of the circumstances, we find no error in the trial court's determination that a reasonable person in Simmons' position would have felt free to terminate the encounter with police. Simmons does not deny that he signed a Miranda waiver before the detectives began to interview him at the sheriff's office, and he never asked to terminate the interview. The two detectives allowed Simmons to use the bathroom when he needed to, and the three even ate dinner together. Moreover, the detectives told Simmons that they would provide a ride home if his family could not come to get him, and they reassured Simmons that he was not under arrest. Given the significant deference that we give to trial courts' fact-finding on motions to suppress, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it accepted the evidence presented by the State and determined that Simmons' December 7 interview with detectives was voluntary under the totality of the circumstances.
Even if Simmons was able to successfully argue that his detention was custodial and not voluntary, he would still have to show that the police detained him without probable cause in order to prevail. See Blanco v. State, 452 So.2d 520, 523 (Fla.1984) (holding that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence when there was probable cause to support his de facto arrest). In addition to finding that Simmons' encounter with detectives was voluntary, the trial court determined that the police had probable cause to detain Simmons. We have stated that [p]robable cause for arrest exists where an officer `has reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect has committed a felony. The standard of conclusiveness and probability is less than that required to support a conviction.' Chavez v. State, 832 So.2d 730, 747 (Fla. 2002) (quoting Walker v. State, 707 So.2d 300, 312 (Fla.1997)). At the time of the interview, detectives had statements from Simmons' friends and acquaintances that indicated that he was Tressler's boyfriend and that he was the last person seen with Tressler while she was alive. They also had a statement from Mr. Rodriguez that he saw Simmons with Tressler between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on December 1, 2001. Moreover, Simmons' car matched the description of the car that two witnesses saw at about midnight on December 1, from which a woman matching the description of Tressler was attempting to flee. Detectives also had statements from witnesses that Simmons may have beaten Tressler earlier in the week, and they knew that he had previously been arrested for abusing a prior spouse or girlfriend. This Court has stated that [t]he existence of probable cause is not susceptible to formulaic determination. Rather, it is the `probability, and not a prima facie showing, of criminal activity [that] is the standard of probable cause.' Doorbal v. State, 837 So.2d 940, 952-53 (Fla.2003) (citations omitted) (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 235, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)). Considering the totality of the circumstances and the evidence presented in this case, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion when it found that any custodial detention of Simmons was supported by probable cause.