Opinion ID: 1175465
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Were Defendant's Statements Voluntary?

Text: At trial, defendant moved to suppress the statements he made to law enforcement officers. The trial court held a voluntariness hearing and heard testimony concerning the circumstances surrounding defendant's statements. Officer William Stahl testified that he interviewed defendant at police headquarters regarding the allegations made by the two victims. During the course of this interview, defendant continuously asked whether he would be going to jail or be released. Officer Stahl told defendant that, based on the stories told by the victims, he would probably be jailed because the police had two victims telling them similar stories and the defendant had not talked to [the police] about the situation or given [the police] any information. Defendant then made a statement to the police. The trial court found no coercion on the part of the investigating officers and permitted the state to introduce testimony regarding these statements. Defendant claims error. The burden is on the state to show by a preponderance of evidence, considering the totality of the circumstances, that the statements were made voluntarily. State v. Griffin, 148 Ariz. 82, 85, 713 P.2d 283, 286 (1986); State v. Graham, 135 Ariz. 209, 211, 660 P.2d 460, 462 (1983). The question of voluntariness is determined by an objective evaluation of police conduct and not by defendant's subjective perception of reality. State v. Carrillo, 156 Ariz. 125, 136-37, 750 P.2d 883, 894-95 (1988) (referring to Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 107 S.Ct. 515, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986)). The trial court's finding of voluntariness will not be disturbed on appeal absent a showing of clear and manifest error. Griffin, 148 Ariz. at 85, 713 P.2d at 286. In this case, the trial court heard testimony that the defendant received his Miranda rights, that defendant willingly spoke to the police, and that the police made no promises or threats to obtain his statements. In characterizing the police statements, the court said: [L]ook, you are under arrest for these events, we have statements from two victims which indicate you committed the crime, we have nothing to the contrary, and when you asked me whether or not you are going to be released, I am telling you that in my opinion you are probably not going to be released because we have statements from the victims indicating a crime was committed and nothing to the contrary. So therefore, under those circumstances, if you ask me whether or not you are going to be released, the answer is, probably not. Now, that seems to me rather logical and reasonable and non-coercive. It's basically saying how a decision on release is going to be made, which is, rather simply, I look at the evidence and see what it shows me and make a determination. With nothing to the contrary except statements of the victims, you are probably not going to be released. Doesn't strike me as very coercive. It strikes me as being a rather logical and reasonable statement to the defendant as to what the situation was. For all of those reasons, I find them non-coercive and I will admit the statements. We agree with the trial court and find no error.