People v. Saiz

600 P.2d 97, 42 Colo. App. 469
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 24, 1979
Docket76-883
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 600 P.2d 97 (People v. Saiz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Saiz, 600 P.2d 97, 42 Colo. App. 469 (Colo. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

600 P.2d 97 (1979)

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Rudy SAIZ, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 76-883.

Colorado Court of Appeals, Div. II.

May 24, 1979.
Rehearings Denied June 21, 1979.
Certiorari Denied September 24, 1979.

*98 J. E. Losavio, Jr., Dist. Atty., Clinton A. Smith, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty., Pueblo, for plaintiff-appellee.

J. Gregory Walta, Colorado State Public Defender, Ilene P. Buchalter, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, for defendant-appellant.

BERMAN, Judge.

Defendant appeals from convictions, entered upon jury verdicts, of first degree (felony) murder, first degree burglary, and *99 aggravated robbery. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

On defendant's motions to suppress statements and tangible evidence, the trial court found the following facts. On August 17, 1974, a man was found in his home, severely beaten, the effects of which caused his death the following day. By talking to various witnesses, the police learned that a young man had been seen coming out of the victim's yard with a hammer, that a hammer had been seen on the roof of a shed nearby, and that defendant, a sixteen-year-old, had been seen cutting through a neighbor's backyard and inside another neighbor's garage at material times. The description of the clothing worn by defendant was similar to that worn by the young man with the hammer.

On August 20, two officers went to defendant's home and "requested" that he accompany them to the police station. Defendant and his mother did so.

Upon arrival at the station defendant was questioned, as a "witness," regarding his whereabouts on the morning of August 17. When defendant stated that he had not left his home that morning, the police realized he was lying and advised him of his rights.

Defendant and his parents then agreed to, and he was given, a polygraph examination. From the results, the police believed that defendant was either involved in, or that he had knowledge of the incident. Upon being told of the test results, defendant's mother talked to defendant privately, and he told her that he had found the victim's wallet and that he had overheard a conversation implicating two individuals. Defendant's mother relayed this information to the officers, and defendant was kept in custody overnight.

The following morning, officers talked to defendant, out of the presence of his parents, regarding the information obtained from defendant's mother. The police also talked to one of the individuals defendant had referred to, and were told "a story by him that differed from what defendant had said." When confronted with this account, defendant stated that he had been walking near the victim's house when he saw someone come running down the alley behind the house. This person, who was carrying a hammer, fell down and dropped a wallet. After the person got up and kept running, defendant picked up the wallet, removed the $40 in it, and discarded it. Defendant agreed to show the police where he had discarded the wallet, and did so.

Upon returning to the police station after recovering the wallet, on the way to look at police photos to determine whom he had seen drop the wallet, defendant stated that he and another person "did it." At this point, questioning ceased, and defendant's parents were brought to the station.

Defendant and his parents were advised of his rights at the outset of the ensuing interview (the "noon-to-one statement"). After defendant and his father agreed to proceed without an attorney, defendant denied involvement in the incident, reverting to his prior statement that he saw someone else drop the wallet. Defendant subsequently stated that he did not want to say any more, but, after continued urging to tell the truth by the officers and defendant's mother, he stated that he had stood watch while someone else went into the victim's house. Defendant's parents agreed to supply the police with the clothing worn by defendant on August 17.

At the conclusion of the noon-to-one statement defendant agreed to take another polygraph test. During this test, outside the presence of his parents, defendant stated that he alone was responsible. This final statement was then repeated by defendant in front of his parents.

The police then went to defendant's house, and defendant's father gave them the clothing which defendant had worn on August 17. Expert testimony at trial was to the effect that a dog hair subsequently found on this clothing matched a hair found on the victim's pants as to seventeen of eighteen characteristics. The expert opined that the hairs had "a common source of origin."

*100 The trial court suppressed all statements made by defendant out of the presence of his parents under § 19-2-102(3)(c)(I), C.R.S. 1973. The final statement made by defendant was also suppressed because the trial court found that, although defendant's parents were present, "the original taint of illegality had in no way been removed." The noon-to-one statement, however, was found to be made under circumstances "sufficiently distinguishable to purge [it] of the original taint," apparently because, at the beginning of this statement, defendant denied any involvement in the incident, and his inculpatory statement was made upon continued urging by his parents as well as the officers. The wallet was admitted because it was obtained by the officers "with the cooperation of defendant," and the clothing was admitted because it was obtained as a result of the consent of defendant and his father.

I.

Defendant's principal argument is that the noon-to-one statement should have been suppressed because, among other things, it was made when the officers continued to interrogate him after ignoring his attempt to exercise his right to remain silent. We agree that the statement was improperly admitted.

As a preliminary, we note that when reviewing allegations which concern the deprivation of fundamental rights, we can not be concerned with either the heinous nature of the crime or the depravity of the defendant. See Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 97 S.Ct. 1232, 51 L.Ed.2d 424 (1977).

In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the United States Supreme Court made it clear that: "If the individual indicates in any manner, at any time prior to or during questioning, that he wishes to remain silent, the interrogation must cease." (emphasis added) Here, during the noon-to-one statement, but before the inculpatory portion thereof, defendant responded to one of the officer's questions by stating, "I ain't going to say nothing no more." It is difficult to imagine a clearer assertion by defendant of his right to remain silent. Yet, as the trial court found, "The officers ... continued to urge defendant to tell the truth."

In fact, the transcript of the noon-to-one statement reveals that, from immediately after defendant attempted to exercise his right to remain silent, until his inculpatory statement, the police officers made the following statements:

"All we want is the truth, Rudy, just right down the line, the exact truth.
.....
All we want is the truth, Rudy, nobody's trying to railroad you or anything. We want the exact truth....
.....

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600 P.2d 97, 42 Colo. App. 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-saiz-coloctapp-1979.