Delacruz v. Commonwealth

324 S.W.3d 418, 2010 Ky. App. LEXIS 183, 2010 WL 3927809
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedOctober 8, 2010
Docket2009-CA-001312-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 324 S.W.3d 418 (Delacruz v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Delacruz v. Commonwealth, 324 S.W.3d 418, 2010 Ky. App. LEXIS 183, 2010 WL 3927809 (Ky. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

[419]*419 OPINION

HARRIS, Senior Judge:

David Delacruz appeals from his Graves Circuit Court conviction on the charge of complicity to trafficking in marijuana greater than 5 pounds and sentence of 5 years imprisonment. Delacruz requests reversal based upon the following claimed errors: (1) that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress an incriminating statement which he asserts was given in violation of his Miranda rights; (2) that the trial court erred by permitting the Commonwealth to peremptorily strike a juror based upon the juror’s ethnicity; and (3) that the jury was improperly instructed. After a careful review of the record and briefs, we conclude that the trial court erred in its denial of Delacruz’s motion to suppress. Therefore, we reverse.

On August 24, 2007, Detective Michael Williams learned that a box containing marijuana was en route to a residence located in Mayfield, Kentucky. Detective Williams intercepted the package at Fed Ex and presented it to a drug detecting dog. The dog alerted on the package, indicating the presence of a controlled substance. Pursuant to a search warrant, Detective Williams opened the box and found over fourteen pounds of marijuana. Detective Williams resealed the box and prepared to execute a controlled delivery.

Detective Williams donned a Fed Ex uniform and drove a van labeled “Fed Ex” to the residence where the package was addressed. Laura Ladd received the package and was immediately arrested. Ladd told the officers that she had been paid to receive a package for Gabi-no Lopez. She told the officers that Lopez instructed her to call the owner of the residence, Delacruz, when the package arrived.

Delacruz was later questioned by the police. Initially, he denied any knowledge but later admitted that he knew that the package was being delivered for Lopez. Delacruz claimed, however, that he believed that the box contained car parts.

Ladd, Lopez, and Delacruz were all indicted on two counts of trafficking in marijuana greater than five pounds. Delacruz was convicted on both counts of the indictment. However, the trial court granted a judgment notwithstanding the verdict on one count of trafficking.2 On July 7, 2009, Delacruz was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on the remaining conviction. This appeal follows.

I. The Miranda Rights Violation

A suspect must be informed of his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney prior to a custodial interrogation. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). These rights are known collectively known as “Miranda rights” or “Miranda warnings.” The Commonwealth must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant waived these Miranda rights. Mills v. Commonwealth, 996 S.W.2d 473, 482 (Ky.1999); McCloud v. Commonwealth, 286 S.W.3d 780 (Ky.2009). Although we must “presume that a defendant did not waive his rights[,]” waiver can be shown “from the actions and words of the person interrogated.” North Carolina v. Butler, 441 U.S. 369, 373, 99 S.Ct. 1755, 60 L.Ed.2d 286 (1979). The waiver must be executed knowingly and voluntarily. Mills, 996 S.W.2d at 482. The person waiving his rights must understand the [420]*420nature of the right being waived and the potential consequences of the waiver. Id. The Commonwealth failed to show that Delacruz understood these rights.

A portion of the audio recording of the interrogation was played during the suppression hearing. The recording contains this exchange between Detective Williams and Delacruz:

Detective Williams: Let me first read you your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney before making any statements. You may have your attorney with you before making any statements. Or you can answer questions with your attorney with you. If you can not afford an attorney, the court will appoint one for you. Do' you understand that you don’t have to answer any questions, whatsoever, that I ask? Or answer any questions?
Delacruz: (inaudible)
Detective Williams: That’s just it. Do you understand that you don’t have to make any statements or answer any questions?
Delacruz: Well, I don’t understand what you are talking about.
Detective Williams: Yes or no. Do you understand that you don’t have to answer any of my questions? If I ask you a question do you understand that you don’t have to answer it ... if you do not want to?
Delacruz: I don’t know what kind we are talking about here?
Detective Williams: Don’t wonder about the kind I am going to ask you. Wonder if ... Do you understand that if I ask you a question about anything, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to? Do you understand that much?
Delacruz: I want to answer whatever you want. Anything you want, I want to answer.
Detective Williams: But you do understand that you don’t have to if you don’t want to? That’s right. That’s good. So you do understand?3

The recording demonstrates that Detective Williams attempted to assure that Delacruz understood that he had the right to remain silent. However, after Delacruz was initially advised of his Miranda rights, he indicated that he did not understand. Rather than rereading the rights, describing each individual right, or providing Delacruz with rights written in Spanish, Detective Williams only asked if he understood that he did not have to answer questions. That explanation is incomplete and insufficient. Detective Williams never ascertained that Delacruz understood all of his Miranda rights.

Absent a showing by the Commonwealth by a preponderance of the evidence that Delacruz understood all of his Miranda rights, including his rights with respect to counsel, any waiver of rights by Delacruz was not knowingly and intelligently made, and should have been suppressed.

The trial court’s failure to suppress these statements requires us to reverse and remand this case for a new trial with directions to the trial court to suppress Delacruz’s statements.

II. The Batson Challenge

The second issue raised by Delacruz concerns the Commonwealth’s peremptory strike of a juror with a Hispanic surname. Since we are remanding this case for a new trial and this issue is unlikely to reoccur, we will not address it further, except [421]*421to observe that we believe the trial court did not err. See Stanford v. Commonwealth, 793 S.W.2d 112, 114 (Ky.1990).

III. The Jury Instructions

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Delacruz v. Commonwealth
324 S.W.3d 418 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
324 S.W.3d 418, 2010 Ky. App. LEXIS 183, 2010 WL 3927809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/delacruz-v-commonwealth-kyctapp-2010.