Opinion ID: 2817272
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The charge and motion to suppress

Text: On July 17, 2006, Ms. Sharp was charged with one count of felony murder. On August 25, 2006, the charge was amended to include a second count for kidnapping with intent to injure or terrorize.4 On December 11, 2006, the state trial court held a hearing to consider whether Ms. Sharp’s statements should be suppressed as involuntary. At the hearing, Detective Wheeles testified that while he and Ms. Sharp were returning to the police station after the re-enactment, he told her the district attorney would ultimately make the charging decision in the case. He also testified that he did not make her any promises, and instead simply urged Ms. Sharp to be truthful and assured her that he would retrieve her children from the homeless camp. Ms. Sharp did not testify. Her counsel argued the statements from the interview and re-enactment should be suppressed because they were not voluntary—they were induced by Detectives Wheeles’s promises to be lenient and help find a safe place for her and her children to stay. The trial court viewed the video of the interviews and re-enactment, and denied the motion, ruling as follows: 4 Mr. Hollingsworth, Mr. Baker, and Mr. Cornell were also charged with felony murder on July 17, 2006, and kidnapping with the intent to injure or terrorize on August 25, 2006. -7- I’ve seen the -- I’m going to call it the DVD video on the computer screen, two different parts of that. I’ve not5 seen the video on the television, the video on the television being the re-enactment, and at all times, I observed Miss Sharp and her actions and I’ve also observed them here in the courtroom today, that in detail. Detective Wheeles said that she was scared and nervous, but what they discussed in the car, I couldn’t tell you, I don’t think Detective Wheeles can even tell you; but once they were back at the Law Enforcement Center, she was given her Miranda rights, she voluntarily gave up her Miranda rights, she talked, I saw her in that interview room, I saw her with a bottle of water. I can even, if I could think of the name of it, I could even tell you what the name of that water is, because it’s in a blue type bottle. In addition, there’s times when she stretches out in the law enforcement room when he leaves, she stretches from one chair to another one. She appears to be very relaxed, very candid. Her responses are very clear. Occasionally maybe have to ask a question or what’s meant. At no time does she appear that she’s under duress. At no time does she appear that she’s under the influence of anything in so far as her responses to any questions. At no time and definitely you can see it when she’s walking in the area down by the river during the re-enactment she has no trouble positioning herself in different positions, positions Detective Wheeles in different positions where people were at given times allegedly when this alleged crime or crimes occurred. Um, she indicated eventually what participation she had in the alleged crime, or at least a portion of it if not all that, I do not know. Um, they got the kids, the kid were in the room with her, she was appropriate in so far as the kids were concerned, in so far as trying to get them to quiet down. There was some bottles -- water bottles, pop bottles or whatever in the room, one little boy playing like it was a gun, this type of thing, psst, psst, psst, psst, like shooting flies or birds in the air. At no time did she appear she was under duress, coercion, operating under any promises. [Sharp] talked to the detective and the length of attention wasn’t unusual, she was given things to drink, she was even taken out -- she took them out to the scene of reenactment. They went to two different camps while they were there. She was able to do that, she was able to walk around, her demeanor was fine. As the officer testified, she was cooperative, which comes across on the video. Therefore, the Court denies the motion to suppress, and the statements in this court’s opinion [were] freely, voluntarily and intelligently made and could be used at trial. 5 This appears to be either a misstatement or a transcription error because the judge goes on to describe his observations of the re-enactment video. -8- State App. Vol. II at 67-69.