State of New Jersey v. Isaiah W. Bankscarey

New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division·Decided June 18, 2025·No. A-2215-22·Unpublished

Opinion

RECORD IMPOUNDED

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the intiernet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-2215-22

STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

ISAIAH W. BANKSCAREY, a/k/a ISAIAH BANKS CAREY,

Defendant-Appellant.

Submitted January 6, 2025 – Decided June 18, 2025 Before Judges Gummer and Berdote Byrne.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Atlantic County, Indictment Nos. 19-10-2134 and 21-10-1597.

Jennifer Nicole Sellitti, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Rachel A. Neckes, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, of counsel and on the briefs).

Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Amanda G. Schwartz, Deputy Attorney General, of counsel and on the brief).

PER CURIAM Defendant Isaiah Banks-Carey appeals his convictions by guilty plea on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault.1 He also appeals a prior order denying his motion to suppress the results of a DNA buccal swab to which he had consented. Defendant committed the assaults against his girlfriend's daughters, who were thirteen years old or younger when defendant first impregnated them. We vacate the fines and monetary penalties imposed as part of his sentence and remand the case so the trial court can conduct an ability-to-

pay hearing and state its reasons for imposing any fines or monetary penalties.

We otherwise affirm.

I.

On or about March 7, 2019, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office received a referral from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (Division) about two pregnant girls: twelve-year-old Kelly and thirteen-year-

old Taylor.2 Their mother, Kara, learned the girls were pregnant when she took them to a hospital after noticing a difference in their bodies. Defendant was in

1 According to defendant, Banks-Carey is the correct spelling and punctuation of his name. 2 We use pseudonyms in accordance with Rule 1:38-3(c)(9) and N.J.S.A. 2A:82- 46.

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a dating relationship with Kara and lived with her and her daughters. Taylor gave birth on March 17, 2019.

Detective Danielle Rosiello interviewed the girls on March 26, 2019.

They initially denied having any sexual intercourse with defendant. Detective Jose Rodriguez and Detective Rosiello interviewed Kara the same day. Both detectives later testified at the suppression hearing. After Kara provided information about her relationship with defendant, Detective Rodriguez spoke to defendant over the phone. He told defendant the girls had been interviewed. He asked defendant if he would submit to a buccal swab so that his DNA could be compared to the DNA of Taylor's baby. According to Detective Rodriguez, defendant said he wanted to help and agreed to submit to the buccal swab. They scheduled March 29, 2019, as the day defendant would appear for the buccal swab.

On March 27, 2019, defendant cancelled the appointment, stating he wanted to postpone the swabbing until after Kelly's baby was born. Detective Rodriguez testified he had explained to defendant, "it would be good if we could obtain his DNA profile now" and the State could save the profile and later compare it to the baby's profile once a sample was obtained from the baby. According to Detective Rodriguez, defendant did not refuse to submit to the

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buccal swab; he just indicated he preferred to wait. On April 8, 2019, defendant contacted Detective Rodriguez to schedule the buccal swab. They scheduled the appointment for later that week, but defendant did not appear on the scheduled date and did not respond to the detective's follow-up calls and texts. Sergeant Carlton Durhim, who was involved in the investigation and testified at the suppression hearing, described his impression of defendant's actions:

the totality of [defendant's] participation all the way from the beginning when he was supposed to be giving his DNA swab. He never refused. Things came up and he had to change appointments. All those other things that went there, he never acted like he did not want to cooperate in the investigation. It seemed like in my opinion, he wanted to participate in the investigation including to provide his DNA to get this all cleared up.

The detectives investigated other men as potentially being the fathers of the girls' children. The detectives eliminated them based on DNA test results, timing, and statements from the girls and the men. The prosecutor's office received a second referral from the Division at the end of April. According to the referral, Taylor told someone she had performed oral sex on defendant and defendant had touched Kelly's buttocks when she was in the shower.

Kelly gave birth on June 12, 2019. The detectives went to the hospital and obtained DNA samples from Kelly and her baby by performing buccal swabs. Kara was at the hospital. She contacted Taylor and defendant to set up A-2215-22

a meeting later that day at her home when the detectives could obtain samples from them and Taylor's baby. According to Detective Rodriguez, he asked Kara to contact them. Detective Rosiello testified Kara had told them she "was going to contact [defendant] to meet [them] at the house, so that [the detectives] could get his sample," but she also indicated she was not sure who brought up the subject. According to Kara, who also testified at the suppression hearing, she was not following instructions from the detectives when she called defendant and asked him to meet them at the house. On the way to the house, Detective Rosiello filled out a consent form for defendant with basic information such as his name, who would be present, who would be taking the sample, and the sample that was going to be taken.

Defendant was already at the house when the detectives arrived. After the samples were obtained from Taylor and the baby, Detective Rosiello read the consent form to defendant and explained to him the form and the procedure that would be followed: Detective Rodriguez would be swabbing the inside of his cheek and the sample taken from his cheek would be sent to a lab to find out if he was a contributor to the babies' DNA. The consent form contained the following statement, among others: "I have been further advised that I may withdraw my consent at any time and for any reason . . . ." Detective Rosiello

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explained to defendant he could withdraw his consent at any time and if he withdrew his consent, he could contact Detective Rodriguez. According to Detective Rosiello, if defendant had called Detective Rodriguez and advised him he was withdrawing his consent, Detective Rodriguez would have contacted the lab and made sure it stopped testing the sample. After defendant was given time to read the consent form, he signed it and submitted to the buccal swab. The detectives did not observe anyone speaking with defendant or pressuring or coercing him into giving his consent.

On September 4, 2019, a DNA laboratory report indicated defendant was the parent of the offspring of both girls. Based on those DNA results, Detective Rodriguez arrested defendant and told him he was under arrest because the DNA results showed he was the father of the girls' children. While defendant was being transported to the prosecutor's office, Taylor and Kelly were interviewed and identified defendant as the father of their children.

At the prosecutor's office, Sergeant Durhim and Detective Rodriguez conducted an interrogation of defendant after he was advised of his rights pursuant to Miranda v Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), stated he wanted to speak with the detectives, and signed a Miranda card. During the recorded interrogation, defendant admitted to performing oral sex on both girls, admitted

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