State v. Abbott

812 S.E.2d 225
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided March 15, 2018·No. S17A1583·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinion

Hines, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal by the State from an order of the superior court suppressing video-recorded statements that defendant Dijon Cortez

Abbott gave to an investigator to be used in his prosecution for murder and other crimes. See OCGA § 5-7-1 (a) (4) ; State v. Andrade , 298 Ga. 464, 782 S.E.2d 665 (2016). For the reasons which follow, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand the case with direction.

On September 10, 2013, a Richmond County grand jury returned an indictment charging Abbott with murder and the related crimes of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, unlawful gang activity, criminal damage to property in the second degree, and reckless conduct, all in connection with the fatal shooting of Marques Eubanks and the wounding of two other individuals on July 18, 2013.1 There were two suppression hearings, *228at which Investigator Chris Langford and Deputy Sheriff Beverly Hoffman-Wright testified. Following the hearings, the superior court entered its order suppressing the entirety of Abbott's video-recorded statements.

In its order, the superior court found the following, all of which is supported by the video-recorded interview or the transcripts of the suppression hearings. During a shooting between members of two rival gangs at a house party late in the evening, Abbott shot and killed one man and seriously injured another. Abbott claims that, at the same time, he was shot in the right leg and left arm, and he also was injured when fleeing across a wooden fence. He subsequently had a bandage on his left arm and clearly had a painful injury below his right knee. Based on the sheriff's investigation, Abbott, who was a 17-year-old high school student, was identified as a suspect or person of interest. On the day after the shooting, four or five sheriff's vehicles converged on Abbott's mother's house. He was not present but appeared shortly after his mother telephoned him. Abbott was placed in the back of Deputy Hoffman-Wright's patrol car and was not handcuffed, shackled, or questioned at that time. Instead, he was transported to the criminal investigation division of the sheriff's office and placed in an interrogation room with his left leg shackled to the floor. He was left alone in that condition for at least 32 minutes until Investigator Langford entered the room. Abbott was not told that he could leave at anytime, and he was interrogated for 53 minutes before being informed of his Miranda rights.2 In the course of that pre- Miranda interrogation, Abbott admitted that he was present at the party, subsequently admitted that he possessed a pistol, and later admitted that he shot three times in the house and three times outside. Immediately after Abbott's admission of firing inside the house, Langford gave Abbott the Miranda warnings, had him sign a waiver form, resumed the interrogation for 34 minutes, and obtained further incriminating admissions. The possibility of self-defense was discussed extensively. After the conclusion of the interrogation, Abbott remained in the interrogation room for at least 56 more minutes, during which time deputies gave him some aid for his wounds and performed a DNA swab test. Based on its findings, the superior court concluded that Abbott was in custody no later than the time when he was placed in the interrogation room and shackled to the floor, because no reasonable person could believe that he was free to leave under Abbott's circumstances. Considering all of the circumstances, the superior court not only excluded Abbott's pre- Miranda statements, it also excluded all of his post- Miranda statements as having resulted from an "interrogate first, warn later" procedure that violated Missouri v. Seibert , 542 U.S. 600, 616-617, 124 S.Ct. 2601, 159 L.Ed.2d 643 (2004), and State v. Pye , 282 Ga. 796, 803, 653 S.E.2d 450 (2007).

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State v. Abbott, 812 S.E.2d 225 (Ga. 2018).

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