Opinion ID: 2224496
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: interrogation of rokus

Text: Around 8:30 a.m. at police headquarters, Officer James Wilson read a Rights Advisory Form, that is, the Miranda warning and admonition, to Rokus and commenced questioning him. In the course of this interrogation, Rokus said that he had wanted to show Kashuba how to load the.44 Magnum; therefore, he placed six hollow-point bullets in the revolver's cylinder and handed the loaded revolver to Kashuba. As Rokus described the situation, after Kashuba had examined the loaded revolver, he began handing it back to [Rokus], butt first, the barrel towards Mr. Kashuba, and the gun ... discharged. In response to Rokus' description of the shooting, Wilson said that in view of the fact that the Magnum was a wheel gun or a cylinder type revolver, Wilson had problems with that story. At that point, Rokus acknowledged that he had lied and that the shooting actually occurred as Rokus was demonstrating a quick draw from the shoulder holster, which he was wearing, and when Rokus quick drawed, the revolver discharged the bullet that struck Kashuba. After additional questioning, the interrogation ended. Somewhat contemporaneous with the interrogation of Rokus, Dr. Blaine Roffman completed an autopsy on Kashuba and concluded that Kashuba had sustained a contact gunshot wound in the back of the head, which exited on the top of the head causing massive skull fractures and brain destruction. When the police learned about Dr. Roffman's conclusions concerning Kashuba's wounds, Officer Wilson, with Officer Robert Sklenar, decided to resume questioning Rokus, who, again, was supplied with the Miranda warning or admonition. Wilson informed Rokus concerning Kashuba's wounds and told Rokus that the account of the shooting related by Rokus in the earlier interrogation was not matching up with the results of the autopsy. Rokus responded that Kashuba was killed while the pair was playing Russian roulette. Wilson asked how anyone could play Russian roulette with six bullets in the cylinder chambers of the fatal revolver, and Rokus answered that he and Kashuba were simply pointing the gun at each other's heads and not pulling the trigger. Rokus then told the officers that while engaged in Russian roulette, he pointed the.44 Magnum at Kashuba, and the gun discharged. Rokus maintained that he did not intend to pull the trigger and that the shooting was an accident. Later in the course of this second interrogation, Rokus gave still another version of the shooting: Rokus, while Kashuba had his head turned away from Rokus, took the gun out of the holster, placed it to the back of [Kashuba's] head, and said, Surprise, mother fucker, as Rokus pulled the trigger.