State of Maine v. Devine

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedMay 14, 2015
DocketKENcr-14-538
StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Maine v. Devine (State of Maine v. Devine) 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. Devine, (Me. Super. Ct. 2015).

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE UNIFIED CRIMINAL COURT KENNEBEC, ss LOCATION: AUGUSTA DOCKET NO. CR-2014-538

STATE OF MAINE ) ) v. ) ORDER ON MOTION TO SUPPRESS ) DAVID M; DEVINE )

Hearing on the Defendant's motion to suppress was held on May 1, 2015. The Defendant

was present and represented by Matthew D. Morgan, Esq. The State was represented by Deputy

District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh.

The Defendant was indicted by the Kennebec County Grand Jury on June 25, 2014, for

charges that included two counts of Aggravated Assault, Class B, according to 17-A M.R.S.A.

§208(1)(A), based on allegations that he intentionally, knowing or recklessly caused serious

bodily injury to Brooklyn Walker (Count 1) and to Maddilyn Walker (Count 2), and one count of

Violation of Condition of Release, Class E, according to 15 M.R.S.A. §1092(1)(A), based on

allegations that he had been r-r"ntecl pre-conviction bail on the condition that he commit no

criminal act and that he violated that condition (Count 3). All three of these charges are alleged

to have occurred on or about May 11, 2014, in Oakland, Maine.

Through his original motion to suppress dated August 13, 2014, Defendant sought to

suppress any statements made by him to law enforcement officers based on violation of his rights

under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966), and because they were not voluntarily

made. Before the hearing began, the Defendant explained that he no longer wished to pursue the

voluntariness argument and instead wished to go forward with just the issue of Miranda

violations. Also before the hearing began, the State agreed that both of the two interviews with I

the Defendant occurred without Miranda warnings being read by police and that police did

1 interrogate the Defendant by asking him questions that were intended to provoke incriminating

responses. Both the State and the Defendant agreed that the sole issue the court needed to

decide was whether the Defendant was in custody for Miranda purposes. The Defendant seeks

to suppress statements he made to Captain Rick Stub bert of the Oakland Police Department and

Det. Terrance (Terry) James of the Maine State Police on May 12, 2014, as part of interview #1

in the Defendant's home in Oakland. The Defendant also seeks to suppress statements he made

to Captain Rick Stubbert and Officer Jeff Coombs of the Oakland Police Department on May 21,

2014, as part of interview #2 in an unmarked police vehicle parked in front of the Defendant's

mother's home. At the hearing, both Captain Rick Stubbert and Det. Terrance James testified

and both parties agreed that a DVD recording of both interviews could be admitted as evidence

in the matter as State's Exhibit #1. This court has reviewed the exhibit and has considered the

evidence. For the reasons stated in this order, the court denies the motion.

During both interviews, Capt. Stubbert decided not to read the Defendant any Miranda

warnings because he did not feel that the Defendant was in custody and thus they were not

required. The first interview occurred just after midnight on May 12, 2014, and was about 18

minutes in length. The second interview occurred around 6:00p.m. on May 21, 2014, and was

about 33 minutes and 15 seconds in length. Capt. Stubbert recorded both interviews via a body

camera.

Statements are subject to Miranda requirements only if those statements are the product

of a custodial interview. Here, both parties agree that all statements by the Defendant, in both

interviews, resulted from questions put to him by the investigators. The central issue presented

is whether, during those interviews, the Defendant was in custody. A person is deemed to be in

custody for Fifth Ame:t;J.dment purposes, thus triggering Miranda warnings, if tbat person is under

2 arrest or restrained to a degree associated with formal arrest. State v. Higgins, 2002 1\1E 77, ,-

12, 796 A.2d 50, 54.

The Defendant was not under formal arrest at any time during either interview and wasn't

actually arrested until some days after the second interview.

The alternative question is whether the Defendant was restrained to a degree associated

with such an arrest. The question of whether a person is restrained to a degree associated with

formal arrest is an objective one, based on reasonable perceptions. Higgins, 2002 1\1E 77, ,- 13,

796 A.2d at 54. This assessment is based on a consideration of all of the circumstances,

including the following factors:

(1) the locale where the defendant made the statements; (2) the party who initiated the contact; (3) the existence or non-existence of probable cause to arrest (to the extent communicated to the defendant); (4) subjective views, beliefs, or intent that the police manifested to the defendant, to the extent they would affect how a reasonable person in the defendant's position would perceive his or her freedom to leave; (5) subjective views or beliefs that the defendant manifested to the police, to the extent the officer's response would affect how a reasonable person in the defendant's position would perceive his or her freedom to leave; (6) the focus of the investigation (as a reasonable person in the defendant's position would perceive it); (7) whether the suspect was questioned in familiar surroundings; (8) the number of law enforcement officers present; (9) the degree of physical restraint placed upon the suspect; and (10) the duration and character of the interrogation. ld.

Interview #1

Just after midnight on May 12, 2014, Capt. Stubbert and Det. James knocked at the

Defendant's door. After about one minute of knocking, the Defendant answered the door. The

Defendant appeared to have been sleeping and had just woken up. Both officers were dressed in

plain clothes and both testified they were carrying firearms and these might have been visible to

the Defendant under their clothing. Capt. Stubbert asked the Defendant if both officers could . come in to talk about what had happened earlier in the day on May 11, 2014. The Defendant

3 responded, "Yeah, come on in. Nice to meet ya. Please sit down." The Defendant then went on

to tell police that 4-year-old Wyatt had hit Maddilyn on the head with a plastic bat and jumped

on her and "That was about it." The entire interaction between police and the Defendant was

calm and not very confrontational and better described as fact gathering by police. Mter about 2

minutes of talking in the Defendant's living room, the officers and Defendant stepped outside

onto the Defendant's porch. On the porch, they further discussed what had occurred and where

everything had happened. This lasted for about 3 and 1h minutes until the Defendant and the

officers went back into the Defendant's living room. The officers continued to discuss the day's

events with the Defendant and he repeatedly explained that he was the only person with

Brooklyn, Maddilyn and Wyatt throughout the day with the exception of his parents stopping by

for a time. The Defendant explained how he first heard then saw Wyatt hitting the girls with a

plastic wiffle ball bat then jumping on them. Capt. Stubbert told the Defendant that the girls'

injuries weren't consistent with a wiffle ball bat. The Defendant then suggested that perhaps

Wyatt used a dog bone instead. Det. James explained that the girls' injuries were serious and

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Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
State v. Higgins
2002 ME 77 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2002)
State v. DeLong
505 A.2d 803 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1986)

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