Opinion ID: 2613558
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: post-arrest statement

Text: The day after Martin was murdered, Aikins was arrested without a warrant. Upon his arrest, the police read him his Miranda rights, and he waived these rights. He then gave a statement to the police which was tape-recorded. In this statement, Aikins lied to the police by telling them that T-Money and Terrance Kelly were two different people. When the police confronted Aikins with the fact that T-Money and Kelly were the same person, Aikins responded by stating, I wondered how long it would take you to figure that out. Also in this statement, Aikins told the police that he did not know where the gun was which had been used in the robbery and murder. Later, Aikins told the police that he did know where the gun was. He voluntarily showed the police where the gun had been thrown out of the car, and the police recovered the gun. In this statement, Aikins also told the police that he was not aware that Kelly had a gun or that Kelly was going to rob the liquor store. Aikins claimed the group went to the liquor store to buy liquor. He stated that he parked the car at the end of the strip mall so that the owner would not be able to see that the car was full of young people and refuse to sell Kelly any alcohol. Prior to trial, Aikins filed a motion to suppress his post-arrest statement, alleging that it was the fruit of an illegal arrest which lacked probable cause. In an effort to demonstrate that probable cause existed to arrest Aikins and that his subsequent statement was not the fruit of an illegal arrest, the State called Roger T. LaRue as a witness in the suppression hearing. LaRue testified that he had been a police detective with the Olathe Police Department for 23 years. LaRue was involved in investigating the death of Martin as a detective for the City of Olathe and as the lead investigator for the Metro Squad. LaRue testified that before Aikins was arrested, the police were aware of a witness, Karen Carpenter, who had seen part of the robbery. Carpenter described the vehicle that she believed was involved in the robbery as a small white car. She saw several people in the car, and she saw one individual leave the car and go into the liquor store immediately before the homicide occurred. LaRue also testified that the police received a phone call from Wynona Hopson before Aikins was arrested. Wynona Hopson's daughter, Paula Hopson, was one of the roommates who lived in Aikins' studio apartment. Wynona Hopson brought her daughter to the police station. LaRue interviewed Paula. Paula said she was living with Aikins and Nash and that other people were also staying in the apartment. Paula explained that six people got in a small white FordRobbie Aikins, Sheldon Nash, Damon McGlory, Jessica Smith, T-Money, and herself. Paula told LaRue that Aikins owned the car and drove the car during the robbery. LaRue testified that Paula told him the group drove to Martin's Liquor Store and that they all went in to buy alcohol except for Paula. While in the store, T-Money shot Martin with a shotgun. Paula told LaRue that they all went back to Aikins' apartment after the shooting. Paula gave the officers the correct address of the apartment. Paula also told LaRue that T-Money wore two bandannas when he robbed the store. Two bandannas were recovered at the scene of the murder. LaRue testified that Paula told him T-Money wore a black baseball cap embroidered with the words Thug Life. Such a hat was found outside the liquor store. Paula also told LaRue that T-Money threw the gun in the back seat when he got in the car and that it struck Jessica Smith in the eye, giving her a bruise. According to LaRue, this statement turned out to be true. The police had not previously told Paula any of these facts. LaRue testified that, according to Karen Carpenter's and Paula Hopson's statements, the police had consistent information that Aikins was driving the car when the robbery and murder occurred and that some of the people involved in the murder were staying with Aikins. According to the State, this gave the police probable cause to arrest Aikins. However, on cross-examination of LaRue at the suppression hearing, the defense questioned LaRue about the police report which stated that Wynona Hopson quoted her daughter Paula as saving, Mama, we didn't go to kill no one. T-Money did that. Nobody knew that was going to happen. According to the police report and LaRue's testimony, Paula also told her mother, Mama, when I got back in the car, all I could see was blood. Paula told her mother that she, Smith, Aikins, T-Money, and a black male she did not know all went into the liquor store to buy beer. The liquor store did not have the beer they were requesting, and they all returned to the car except for T-Money. Paula then heard a gunshot and saw T-Money running back to the car. LaRue testified that Paula told her mother that the group did not go to the liquor store to rob or kill anybody. LaRue admitted on cross-examination that Wynona's version of what happened, according to what Paula told her, is inconsistent with Karen Carpenter's statement that only one person from the car went into the store. However, LaRue said that at this time in the murder investigation, the police were still trying to put all the pieces of the crimes together. LaRue also testified that, in second interview, Paula admitted she had been lying to the police. According to Paula's revised version of the facts, she had not been in the vehicle when the crimes occurred. Instead, she had been at Aikins' apartment and was there when Aikins, Nash, T-Money, and Smith returned from the liquor store. LaRue testified that Paula told him that when the group returned from the liquor store, Smith had a black eye and T-Money began counting the stolen money. The group then told Paula about the robbery and murder. LaRue testified that Paula had initially lied because she did not think the police would believe her story if she did not say she had been in the car when the murder occurred. Paula wanted the police to believe her story because Paula's cousin, who had been seen at Martin's Liquor Store in a white car on the night of the murder, was a suspect in the crimes. Paula came forward because she wanted the police to know that T-Money, and not her cousin, had shot Martin. LaRue testified that he told the other officers about the information he had received from Paula. At this time, the apartment building that Aikins lived in was placed under surveillance. LaRue was concerned that Aikins and the others might flee the area. LaRue testified that the white car showed up at the apartment building with Aikins, Nash, and Kelly in it, and the three were arrested. The trial court held that Aikins' statement was not the fruit of an illegal arrest because the arrest was proper in that the police had probable cause to arrest him. In so holding, the court stated: I believe that there was probable cause to make the arrest of Mr. Aikins at the time the arrest was made. It's true there turned out to be not only inconsistencies in the information that they received from Paula Hopson via her mother, Wynona, and from Paula Hopson directly, but the one consistency, I believe, that furnished probable cause for the arrest was the participation by Mr. Aikins as the driver. Aikins appeals the district court's finding that the police had probable cause to arrest him and the court's refusal to suppress his post-arrest statement as the fruit of an illegal arrest. When reviewing a trial court's suppression of evidence, the appellate courts normally give great deference to the factual findings of the trial court. The ultimate determination of the trial court's suppression of evidence is a legal question requiring independent appellate determination. State v. Vandiver, 257 Kan. 53, Syl. ¶ 6, 891 P.2d 350 (1995). A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without an arrest warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed a felony. K.S.A. 22-2401(c)(1). If a warrantless arrest is challenged by a defendant, the burden is on the State to justify the arrest was not only authorized by the statute, but that it was permissible under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The constitutional validity of a warrantless arrest depends upon whether the arresting officer had probable cause to believe that the person arrested had committed a felony. State v. Strauch. 239 Kan. 203, Syl. ¶ 1, 718 P.2d 613 (1986). Probable cause is the reasonable belief that a specific crime has been committed and that the defendant committed the crime. It does not require evidence of each element of the crime or evidence to the degree necessary to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Grissom, 251 Kan. 851, Syl. ¶ 22, 840 P.2d 1142 (1992). Probable cause for arrest without a warrant depends upon the probabilities arising from known facts and circumstances and exists when the practical considerations of everyday life would lead a reasonable and prudent officer to believe a felony has been or is being committed. State v. Brocato, 222 Kan. 201, Syl. ¶ 1, 563 P.2d 470 (1977). It is not necessary that the evidence giving rise to such probable cause be sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, nor must it be sufficient to prove guilt is more probable than not. It is only necessary the evidence lead the officer to believe that guilt is more than a possibility, and it is well-established that the belief may be predicated in part upon hearsay information. State v. Curtis, 217 Kan. 717, Syl. ¶ 1. 538 P.2d 1383 (1975). We hold the State had probable cause to arrest Aikins. Karen Carpenter saw a car, fitting the description of Aikins' car, pull up to the side of the strip mall where the liquor store was located. She saw a person go into the liquor store and come running out. This person jumped into the car, and the car drove off. Paula Hopson gave a similar description of the defendant's car and stated that this was the car used in the aggravated robbery and murder. Both Paula and her mother provided the police with information indicating that the apartment in which the actual triggerman was staying in was rented in Aikins' name. It is true that Paula's statement contained lies and inconsistencies. However, many of Paula's statements were confirmed. Further, Paula was an ordinary citizen who had come forward, with her mother's help, in concern for society and her own safety. She was not a regular police informant who expected gain from her statement. See State v. Walters, 8 Kan. App.2d 237, 238, 655 P.2d 947 (1982) ([S]tatements of citizen informers are not viewed with such rigid scrutiny as the testimony of a police informer.), rev. denied 232 Kan. 876 (1983). It is also true that almost all of Paula's truthful statements and those of her mother were hearsay. However, it is well established that probable cause may be supported in part by hearsay information. Curtis, 217 Kan. 717, Syl. ¶ 1. Aikins contends that, in this case, the police based their probable cause finding entirely on hearsay, not just in part. This is not the case. While the police did support their probable cause finding with Paula's hearsay statements and with her mother's hearsay statements, they also supported their probable cause finding on the direct evidence of Karen Carpenter. Finally, [t]wo other factors which may come into play in evaluating police conduct in making a warrantless arrest are: the seriousness of the alleged offense and the exigency of the situation, as where immediate arrest seems desirable because of the likelihood that the suspect will flee the jurisdiction. State v. Niblock, 230 Kan. 156, 161, 631 P.2d 661 (1981). In this case, the alleged offenses were very seriousfirst-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery. Also, LaRue testified at the suppression hearing that he was afraid Aikins would flee the area. Thus, immediate arrest seemed desirable. It is true, as Aikins argues, that the police did not have any evidence prior to his arrest that he had planned the robbery or had knowledge of it before it occurred. However, probable cause does not require evidence of each element of the crime or evidence to the degree necessary to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Grissom, 251 Kan. 851, Syl. ¶ 22. It was reasonable for the officers to make a fair inference, based on the evidence they had, that Aikins knew about the aggravated robbery beforehand or at least knew he was harboring felons after the murder. See Strauch, 239 Kan. at 209 (In determining whether probable cause to arrest exists, all the information in the officer's possession, fair inferences therefrom, and facts may be taken into consideration that might not be admissible on the issue of guilt.). Thus, based on the known facts and circumstances that the officers had, the practical considerations of everyday life would lead a prudent person to believe that Aikins had committed a felony. Brocato, 222 Kan. 201, Syl. ¶ 1. This evidence alone could not have proven the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or even proven the defendant's guilt was more probable than not, but it could have reasonably led an officer to believe that the defendant's guilt was more than a possibility. Curtis, 217 Kan. 717, Syl. ¶ 1. As such, the police officers had probable cause to arrest Aikins, and the warrantless arrest was legal. K.S.A. 22-2401(c)(1). Since the arrest was legal, Aikins' subsequent statement was not the fruit of an improper arrest, and the trial court properly denied Aikins' motion to suppress the statement.