State of Maine v. Brown

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedMarch 3, 2011
DocketKENcr-10-579
StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Maine v. Brown (State of Maine v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Maine v. Brown, (Me. Super. Ct. 2011).

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT KENNEBEC, SS. CRIMINAL ACTION Docket No. CR-1O-~79 , !

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v. ORDER REGARDING MOTION TO SUPPRESS BRIAN K. BROWN,

Defendant

The defendant filed a motion to suppress various statements he made to law

enforcement officers which defendant contends are in violation of the rights afforded to

him pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.s. 436 (1966). A hearing on the defendant's

motion to suppress was held before this court on January 18, 2011. Subsequent to the

hearing, the State and the defendant submitted legal memoranda for the court's further

consideration.

Based upon the evidence presented at the January 18, 2011 hearing, the court

makes the following findings.

On August 7, 2010, Officer Michael Durham of the Gardiner Police Department

heard a report from dispatch to be on the look out for a maroon sedan. Officer Durham

ultimately learned the whereabouts of the sedan at issue and further determined that

the vehicle was registered to the defendant, Brian Brown. Corporal George Neagle of

the Kennebec County Sheriff Department was the primary officer investigating the

underlying burglaries for which the defendant was ultimately charged. Corporal

Neagle was informed by the Gardiner Police Department that the whereabouts of the

defendant's vehicle had been determined to be at 20 Mechanic Street in Gardiner. Prior

to Corporal Neagle's arrival at that location, Officer Durham pulled in behind the defendant's vehicle with his cruiser. Officer Durham's marked cruiser parked directly

behind the defendant's car blocking it in the driveway at 20 Mechanic Street. Officer

Durham approached the defendant and prevented him from entering the apartment

building at 20 Mechanic Street. Officer Durham told the defendant that another officer

(Corporal Neagle) wanted to question him about some burglaries. Officer Durham

asked the defendant if Stephen Dingus had been with him. Officer Durham also asked

the defendant if he would consent to having his car searched. The defendant initially

refused the request to search his vehicle, and that information was passed on to

Corporal Neagle prior to his arrival. Officer Durham, along with another Gardiner

Police Department officer, who arrived in a separate marked cruiser, was with the

defendant approximately twenty minutes before Corporal Neagle arrived on the scene.

Corporal Neagle testified during the hearing that it appeared that Officer

Durham was physically detaining the defendant to make sure he would not flee.

Corporal Neagle also testified that he had told Officer Durham to hold the defendant at

the location because he wanted the defendant detained so he could speak to the

defendant. Corporal Neagle further testified that he intended to hold the defendant

until he could obtain a search warrant to search the defendant's car, which he further

indicated he knew could take a couple of hours.

Subsequent to the defendant's initial refusal to have his car searched, Officer

Durham spoke further with the defendant and informed him that their interest in

searching the vehicle was related only to looking for stolen property and not to search

for any drug or drug related materials within the vehicle. Based upon this assertion, the

defendant did voluntarily consent to a search of his vehicle while at 20 Mechanic Street.

Upon searching the defendant's vehicle, certain pieces of jewelry were found which

were connected to the burglaries, which were the subject of the pending charges.

2 Defendant was subsequently arrested and brought to the Gardiner Police Department

where he was provided his Miranda warnings.

Even before Corporal Neagle's arrival at 20 Mechanic Street, Officer Durham

asked the defendant questions, including whether Stephen Dingus had been with him.

Officer Durham also asked questions about property in his vehicle. In response to

Officer Durham's inquiries, defendant made statements to the effect that he had driven

Stephen Dingus around, and further that he (the defendant) did not go into any houses.

After being informed of his Miranda rights at the Gardiner Police Department,

the defendant declined to answer any questions, and indicated this position in writing

(State's Exhibit #1). At no point subsequent to the exercise of his Miranda rights did the

defendant formally waive those same rights during later interactions with law

enforcement personnel that day.

Evidence was presented at the January 18, 2011 hearing regarding interactions

between Corporal Neagle and the defendant while the defendant was being transported

by Corporal Neagle from the Gardiner Police Department to the Kennebec County

Sheriff's Office. Although there was some dispute in the testimony as to precisely what

was stated by Corporal Neagle during the ride from the Gardiner Police Department,

the court finds that the defendant made no statements during this particular time frame

which require suppression.

Upon arrival at the Kennebec County Sheriff's office, the defendant did make

addi tional statements to law enforcement personnel there. Specifically, defendant

eventually made the statement to the effect, "I knew I sho'uldn't have driven Dingus

around." Defendant was clearly in custody at the time this statement was made by him

at the Sheriff's office. A separate Kennebec County Deputy, Derek Levasseur, had been

sitting with the defendant prior to the defendant making these additional statements.

3 Corporal Neagle was attending to other issues regarding the investigation of this case.

Deputy Levasseur and the defendant had known each other from playing football

against each other. In that context, there was conversation between Deputy Levasseur

and the defendant, which led Deputy Levasseur to making a comment to the effect, "Its

not how you start its how you finish." Subsequent to those comments between the

defendant and Deputy Levasseur, the defendant expressed some interest in speaking

further with Corporal Neagle.

Upon Corporal Neagle's reentry into the room where the defendant was being

held, Corporal Neagle reminded the defendant that he had already invoked his Miranda

rights to remain silent. Nonetheless, the defendant made this statement referred to

above not in response to any question posed by Corporal Neagle or Office Levasseur.

ANALYSIS

The initial analysis with respect to the statements made by the defendant while

at 20 Mechanic Street center on whether the defendant was in custody at the time. The

Law Court has indicated in State v. Grant, 2008 ME 14,

In the context of a motion to suppress, the State bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a suspect was not in custody at the time he or she made incriminating statements ....

Ultimately, whether a suspect was in custody at the time of an interrogation depends upon whether a reasonable person in the suspect's circumstances would have felt that he or she was subject to "'formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement' [to] the degree associated with formal arrest."

(Citations omitted.)

The Court again went on to list a number of objective factors to analyze in

determining whether one is in custody mcluding:

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Related

State v. Grant
2008 ME 14 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2008)

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