Opinion ID: 780418
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Arboleda Ortiz's Arrest and Interrogation

Text: 13 Mr. Ortiz was taken from the Drury Inn to the Sanders Station of the Overland Park Police Department by Patrol Officer Matthew Bregel. During the booking process, Officer Bregel asked him for basic information (such as name and date of birth) and he responded normally. At this time, Officer Bregel advised Mr. Ortiz of his Miranda rights, and he said he understood them. About an hour later, Officer Bregel asked appellant Ortiz to sign a Miranda waiver form, which he did. At no time did appellant request an interpreter, and Officer Bregel understood appellant's responses and believed he understood what was said to him in English. During the booking process, Deputy Herrera asked appellant if he understood English or Spanish. Appellant responded in Spanish that he understood both English and Spanish. Appellant was unable to read English, and responded to questions in Spanish, a language in which he was more comfortable. 14 Chief Douglass of the Overland Park Police Department asked Mr. Ortiz if he needed an interpreter and also advised him that he had the right to contact his consul. Chief Douglass had the impression that Mr. Ortiz had no interest in contacting his consul, but he could not testify that Mr. Ortiz said that he did not want to contact his consul. Chief Douglass conducted these exchanges in English and believed that Mr. Ortiz understood him and that he understood Mr. Ortiz. 15 Detectives Kenney and Sharp conducted the interview of Mr. Ortiz, in which he was asked if he understood and spoke English, and he told Detective Kenney that he did. The detectives conducted their interview in English, and both believed that the defendant understood them and was able to answer all of their questions without difficulty. During the initial part of the interview in which detectives asked for basic information (about half an hour), Mr. Ortiz responded appropriately to questions, and also said that he had a seventh grade education and could not read. 16 Before the non-videotaped interrogation, Detective Sharp asked Mr. Ortiz if he understood his Miranda rights and would agree to sign a waiver form. Mr. Ortiz responded that he could not read English, and Detective Sharp read the Miranda waiver aloud to him, at which point Mr. Ortiz indicated that he understood his rights and signed the waiver form. Subsequently, detectives conducted a videotaped interview, with questions based on those asked and answered in the non-videotaped interview, in which Mr. Ortiz recounted the events leading up to the murder and his role in it. Neither Kenney nor Sharp was aware of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and neither advised Mr. Ortiz of his right to have the Colombian consul advised of his arrest. 17 Mr. Ortiz stated that he had flown to Kansas City because he was called by someone who wanted help in getting stolen money back. He went to a house where the victim, Julian Colon and another person (Borja) had been taken. He took the other person (Borja) downstairs, taped him up, and beat him. He denied having any role in the shootings. 18 Special Agent Oyler of the FBI arranged for a team of agents and police officers to transport all three appellants from the Johnson County Adult Detention Center in Olathe to the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri. Special Agents Oyler and Tongate transported defendant Ortiz, who began talking to them. The agents stopped Mr. Ortiz from talking, advised him of his rights, and asked him if he understood English. He said yes. Mr. Ortiz subsequently spoke to the agents about his family in Houston and stated that he did not shoot anyone. 19 Appellant Ortiz testified at the suppression hearing (conducted with the aid of a Spanish interpreter) that he cannot read or write in any language, that he speaks some English, and that he first entered school at about the age of fourteen in Colombia. He also denied that officers ever explained to him that he had a right to remain silent, a right to a lawyer, or that he had a right to call his consul. He also stated that at no time did officers advise him of his Miranda rights or give him the opportunity to stop the conversation. He testified that he asked to telephone his wife, and that he was told by the agent of whom he made this request that he was to have no communication. He stated that had he known that he had the right to refuse to answer questions, he would have refused, and had he known that he had the right to call his consul, he would have called his consul. He also stated that he did not know what the word waiver meant. 20