Opinion ID: 4542543
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motion to Determine Voluntariness

Text: The State filed a Motion to Determine Voluntariness of Defendant’s Statement to Law Enforcement (motion to determine 1 HRS § 707-710 (1993) provides in relevant part as follows: “(1) A person commits the offense of assault in the first degree if the person intentionally or knowingly causes serious bodily injury to another person.” 2 HRS § 707-730 (Supp. 2009) provides in relevant part as follows: (1) A person commits the offense of sexual assault in the first degree if: (a) The person knowingly subjects another person to an act of sexual penetration by strong compulsion[.] 3 The circuit court dismissed the third degree sexual assault charge on the morning of the first day of trial because the charging language was deficient. 2 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER voluntariness) in accordance with HRS § 621-26.4 In its motion, the State argued that a statement Baker gave to Honolulu Police Department (HPD) Detective (Det.) Brian Tokita during the course of a custodial interrogation on January 8, 2013, was voluntarily given and should be freely admissible at trial. A hearing on the motion was held at which Det. Tokita testified about the circumstances of Baker’s custodial interrogation, which occurred on the day Baker was arrested.5 Det. Tokita testified that before commencing the interrogation he read a standardized form to Baker that informed him of his constitutional rights. Baker said that he understood his rights, Det. Tokita stated, and then signed the form indicating that he waived his rights. Det. Tokita testified that the HPD was in possession of an audio recording and a written transcript of the interrogation, which were introduced into evidence. The court took the State’s motion under advisement pending its review of the audio recording and transcript. The audio recording of the interrogation discloses that the interrogation proceeded as follows. Det. Tokita began the interrogation by asking Baker several introductory 4 HRS § 621-26 (1993) provides as follows: “No confession shall be received in evidence unless it is first made to appear to the judge before whom the case is being tried that the confession was in fact voluntarily made.” 5 The Honorable Karen S. S. Ahn presided over the motion and trial proceedings. 3 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER questions, such as his date of birth, level of educational attainment, age, and place of employment. Baker stated that he was 23 years old and was currently employed at a bakery, but he had only completed the eighth grade. Baker did not know his home address, but he indicated that he was living in Waimanalo and knew the name of the street on which he lived. Det. Tokita then informed Baker that he had “been working on this case from the time it started,” that Baker “clearly” did not “know what [Tokita] kn[e]w about this case,” and that Baker should “trust [him]” when he tells Baker that he “know[s] a lot about what happened.” Det. Tokita informed Baker that he knew Baker met the complaining witness (CW) on New Year’s Eve in the Kailua District Park. The detective next told Baker “now here’s your chance, tell me what happen[ed] from there in detail.” Baker responded that he was drinking liquor in the park with his sister KK6 and the CW, and GK arrived there and “did something” with the CW.7 Baker explained that “[GK] told [him] he had sex with her, that’s all. That’s all I know . . . I was not involved in this at all.” This had occurred, Baker said, when he went with his friends LKG and JKG to get 6 All minors referenced in this opinion are referred to by abbreviation. 7 Throughout the trial and Baker’s interrogation, GK and KK were frequently referred to as Baker’s siblings due to their close relationship, but he is actually their cousin. 4 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER cigarettes. When he returned, “[GK]’s getting ready to fight with this boy. This boy was that girl’s boyfriend.” Det. Tokita interrupted and told Baker “Okay, no, I know that’s not true. . . . I know that didn’t happen. Like I said I’ve been investigating this case for a long time. . . . And I know what happened. . . . I’m just giving you a chance to see if you going tell me what happened.” Baker then admitted that he was trying to protect GK, and explained that GK was bloody when he arrived back at the park. Det. Tokita interrupted Baker again, stating “I know that’s . . . not how it went.” Baker responded that he would not have sexually assaulted someone because he was “raped as a kid.” Det. Tokita expressed that Baker was a “straight up guy” because, while Baker had a record as a juvenile, he did not have a record as an adult. Continuing with a friendly tone, Det. Tokita stated, “I don’t know if you was doing any other drugs, but I know you was drinking. I know you was smoking weed. . . . Everyone gets blasted on New Year’s Eve and that’s where I think everything went wrong because you just made an error in judgment.” Without pausing, Det. Tokita then accused Baker and GK of beating the CW and further accused Baker of “put[ting] [his] penis in her vagina, and [GK] did after [Baker] and [Baker] came back and []did it again.” Baker responded “Woah” to this accusation. 5 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER Det. Tokita then offered another mitigating narrative to Baker, saying “I don’t think you did it or meant to do it. You were just not in the right frame of mind. . . . That’s where people go wrong, when they’re in the wrong frame of mind. Then, Det. Tokita stated “Alcohol is . . . . where people get themselves into trouble, cause they lose their inhibitions[.]” The detective continued, “Women are a lot more promiscuous, you know. They flirt more, you know when they’re on alcohol . . . cause they lose their inhibitions.” After again discussing Baker’s juvenile record, Det. Tokita assured Baker that, compared to other offenders, he was not a “bad dude.” “I know. I just want to show that I not like that,” Baker replied. “So I’m giving you a chance now, Mustafa. This is how you’re going to be remembered,” the detective said. Baker again denied committing a crime, repeating his assertion that he was “not like that.” Returning to the mitigating narrative, Det. Tokita stated “Everybody fucks up in life, okay. . . . [O]ur brains are programmed a certain way, you know. . . . Guys are programmed to procreate.” “Yeah,” Baker responded. Det. Tokita continued, “Even movie stars right? We all get busted. This is how our brains are wired. You know what I mean? Now you put that brain on alcohol and drugs, now you’re all fucked up and your thinking is all screwed up at that point.” Before Baker 6 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER could respond, Det. Tokita warned, “So I know what happened. . . . [H]ow [do] you want to be remembered, dude?” Continuing the interrogation, Det. Tokita changed tactics again, warning Baker about what it “sounds like on the outside.” “The girl’s a minor,” Det. Tokita stated. “She’s not an adult. . . . [I]f this hits the media, it would be . . . twenty-three year old boy rapes a fucking juvenile and how does that sound?” Baker answered “That’s not me.” and Det. Tokita replied, “Exactly. Cause when people hear that, what they going think that juvenile, [] how that juvenile is, you think?” Baker again said, “I’m not like that,” prompting Det. Tokita to tell him, “I know you’re not like that. I’m being straight with you cause you haven’t had a record. . . . You just drank too much, dude. You drank too much. You smoked too much. Bad error in judgment. But it’s time to come clean.” Det. Tokita then asked Baker, “When you go to court, you think people want to hear somebody that’s going to fucking deny, deny when the evidence is like insurmountable against them, but they’re just going to deny, deny to the bitter end.” “No,” Baker responded, and Det. Tokita continued, “they want to hear somebody that’s you know what, . . . I made a mistake, . . . that’s not me, but I made a fucking mistake, I did and I’m sorry. What do you think they want to hear?” Baker said that 7 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER people would want to hear the truth, and then Det. Tokita warned, “I don’t want to be jerked around.” At this juncture Baker had not admitted to any criminal activity, and the detective changed course. Det. Tokita told Baker, “we g[o]t physical evidence, so you cannot deny that you didn’t have sex with her. . . . We have physical evidence and nobody can deny physical evidence.” Baker repeated his statement that he did not beat the CW, which prompted Det. Tokita to respond, “Mustafa come on. Now you’re jerking me around again.” Baker again repeated that he did not beat the CW. Det. Tokita returned to the sexual assault allegation, telling Baker, “Did she want to fuck? No. . . . So why’d you fuck her then?” Then, for the first time, Baker admitted to having sex with the CW, explaining, “[c]ause I was all fucked up.” “You wasn’t thinking straight,” Det. Tokita offered, to which Baker said, “We had four bottles of Jack Daniels. . . . I was smoking weed off the chain. I was all fucked up.” After this Baker again denied beating the CW, stating that GK beat her with a bottle. Det. Tokita then provided a sequence of events, accusing Baker of having sex with the CW against her will three times. The detective stated that first Baker had vaginal sex with the CW, then GK had vaginal sex with her, then Baker returned and had anal sex and vaginal sex with the CW. “That’s 8 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER why I know there’s physical evidence that you guys cannot deny because there’s DNA in there and you know that DNA’s one of [a] kind,” Det. Tokita said. After Baker replied “Yeah,” Det. Tokita stated, “Exactly, so I know what happened already, cause there’s physical evidence.” Baker again stated that he “did not beat her up.” This prompted Det. Tokita to ask, “so you admit you fucked her, penis in vagina?” Baker said “Yes.” Det. Tokita followed this admission by trying to get Baker to adopt the detective’s version of events. Baker, resisting Det. Tokita’s narrative, responded, “I only went twice.” Det. Tokita again recited his version of events to Baker, telling him “[R]emember you don’t know what I know now?” He then warned Baker, “you’re losing me when you bullshit me.” Baker repeated his statement that he only had sex twice, to which Det. Tokita again pressed Baker to accept the detective’s version of the events. Baker then appeared to adopt Det. Tokita’s version, replying, “Okay.” To clarify Baker’s possible admission, Det. Tokita asked “You tell me, am I right or am I wrong?” to which Baker answered, “I don’t know.” Det. Tokita responded, “what [do] you mean you don’t know?” Baker explained that he had not had anal sex with the CW because “she was laying on her back the whole time.” Det. Tokita again told Baker his version of the events and warned, “I have the physical proof Mustafa.” Det. Tokita 9 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER then asked Baker whether he was “going to own up.” Baker said “Yes. I ain’t going to argue with you no more.” Det. Tokita once again attempted to get Baker to confess to the version of events that the detective had set forth. Baker finally admitted to Det. Tokita’s narrative. Det. Tokita demanded to know why Baker denied having sex with the CW in the manner that Det. Tokita described up until that point, to which Baker responded, “I was scared.” Det. Tokita again warned Baker, “I told you already, I know what happened. . . . Once you stray from the real story, I know already.” Det. Tokita then reassured Baker that he was not trying to manipulate him, he was simply seeking “the straight answers.” Det. Tokita asked Baker, “look Mustafa, . . . have I steered you wrong?” “No,” Baker responded. “I’m not playing games with you, right? What I’m telling you is straight up. I’m being straight up with you,” the detective continued. Baker responded, “Right, right,” to this, and Det. Tokita said, “And that’s what I want you to be with me. You know what I mean? Fair is fair.” After this exchange, Baker told Det. Tokita, “I didn’t beat her[,] all I did [was] grab[] her and thr[o]w her to the ground.” Det. Tokita rejected this, telling Baker, “I know [GK] hit [the CW] with the bottle already, but I know the both of you beat her.” Baker once more denied beating the CW, which prompted Det. Tokita to exclaim, “Dude.” Baker attempted to 10 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER explain further, saying, “I tried to sit her here, she tried to get up. So I pushed her, she fell right on her face again[.]” Det. Tokita again rejected Baker’s response, stating, “[Baker] the both of you beat her. I know the both of you beat her. I know that for a fact, dude.” Baker denied, for the thirteenth time, beating the CW. Det. Tokita then presented Baker with an assault narrative, explaining to him, “You told [GK], smash her head with the bottle, bash her on the head, okay? . . . I believe you, okay, but you start beating her.” Baker attempted to explain that GK hit the CW in the face with the bottle, before saying, “I don’t know why I did ‘um.” He said that afterwards he picked the CW up and helped her put her clothes back on. Apparently accepting this statement, Det. Tokita told Baker, “See that checks out . . . because you told me you have ADHD . . . [s]o maybe you got a little bit of that, . . . . [s]ometimes maybe you snap.”8 Baker agreed that he snaps, saying “I do. It’s . . . it’s normal.” Continuing, Det. Tokita stated, “when you on alcohol and you’re on drugs, chances of that happening would be worse . . . you’re not yourself.” Drawing connections between himself and Baker, Det. Tokita said, 8 In the preliminary stages of the interrogation, Baker informed Det. Tokita that he took Ritalin for “ADHD” as a child, but that he stopped taking it over ten years prior to the interrogation because his father did not approve of the medication. 11 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER “I do some fucked up things when I drink, dude, let me tell you that.” He further attempted to draw parallels between Baker and himself, saying, “I do some fucked up things when I drink and that’s part of the reason why, fuck, I’m divorced, you know what I mean? Cause I did some fucked up things.” “Me, too.” Baker responded. Baker then offered that he was divorced as well. After this exchange, Baker once again denied beating the CW. This appeared to frustrate Det. Tokita, who responded, “Dude, come on. Now this is when I know you’re not being straight with me. You know what I mean and when I write my report, that’s what it’s going to reflect. That you weren’t being straight with me about that.” Baker asked, “What do you want to hear, officer? What question do you want to ask?” “I want to hear the truth from you,” Det. Tokita stated. “Why did you hit her and why did you kick her like that?” Det. Tokita questioned. “I was scared” Baker responded, and then stated that he didn’t want to remember, and that he was still scared. Det. Tokita pressed Baker further, asking, “why did you beat her up?” Finally, Baker offered, “I was drinking. It was in the moment. I was fucked off my ass.” Det. Tokita once more urged Baker to take responsibility for directing the attack on the CW, telling him, “[GK] didn’t want to fuck her either. He was scared. . . . But you told him to [do] it. Do you remember?” Baker responded, 12 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER “No.” Det. Tokita appeared unwilling to drop the point, stating, “Well that’s what happened[.]” The detective tried once more, asking Baker what he would say to GK if he was present. Baker responded, “GK had nothing to do with it until I told him to.” Det. Tokita responded “you told him to . . . hit her over the head, right, with the bottle? . . . To have sex with her.” Baker did not respond to this suggestion. The interview concluded with Baker affirming that he was not coerced or forced to make his statement. Following the hearing, the circuit court issued a minute order granting in part the State’s motion to determine voluntariness and making several findings of fact and conclusions of law. The court found that Baker was administered his Miranda rights, and that he subsequently waived them when making his statement to the police. The court further found that, despite only completing the 8th grade, Baker displayed “no signs of any inability to understand questions or to respond appropriately to any given question.” Additionally, the circuit court found that Det. Tokita engaged in “apparently deceptive assertions” and “urged [the] defendant to tell the truth, sometimes using an insistent tone.” The court found that these tactics implicated intrinsic facts and were not deliberate falsehoods extrinsic to the facts of the case and that Baker was able to deny certain allegations when he 13 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER wanted to. Considering the totality of the circumstances, the court concluded that “the State ha[d] proven by a preponderance of the evidence that [the] defendant gave the bulk of his January 8, 2013, statement voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.” The court denied the State’s motion in part, finding that the State had failed to prove that Baker’s statement was voluntary as to the final portion of the interview in which “the detective sought to get the defendant to admit that he directed [GK] to hit and assault the complaining witness.”