United States v. Goldtooth

111 F. Supp. 3d 1020, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78537, 2015 WL 3657587
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJune 12, 2015
DocketNo. CR-14-08073-PCT-DGC
StatusPublished

This text of 111 F. Supp. 3d 1020 (United States v. Goldtooth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Goldtooth, 111 F. Supp. 3d 1020, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78537, 2015 WL 3657587 (D. Ariz. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

DAVID G. CAMPBELL, District Judge.

Defendant Corbert Goldtooth has filed a motion to suppress statements he made during an interview with Law Enforcement Officers. Doc. 47. The motion is fully briefed (Docs. 50, 59), and the parties agreed at a status conference on June 2, 2015, that an evidentiary hearing was not necessary (Doc. 52). The Court has reviewed a transcript and an audio recording of Defendant’s interview, and concludes that the motion to suppress should be denied.

I. Background.

Virgil Teller was found dead with multiple stab wounds on July 31, 2011, in his home in Fort Defiance, Arizona. Earlier, at approximately 3:00 a.m. that morning, officers from the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Valerie Apachito after receiving information that the occupants were involved in a possible robbery. The passengers in the vehicle were Defendant Corbert Goldtooth, his son Gage Goldtooth, and Myron Tsosie.

Defendant and Tsosie were transported directly to the Window Rock Detention Center for public intoxication. Defendant’s son had a laceration on his hand and was transported to a local hospital for treatment before being booked for public intoxication. All three were released the next morning, before Teller’s body was found.

When Navajo officers stopped the vehicle in which Defendant and the others were riding, they observed a shiny object being thrown from the passenger window. A knife was later located in the area where the object was thrown. Eventual tests on the knife revealed Virgil Teller’s blood.

Defendant and his son were arrested on August 11, 2011, in connection with the robbery for which they were originally stopped. They were again housed at the Window Rock Detention Center. Defendant was interviewed at the- Center two days later, on August 13, 2011, regarding the murder of Virgil Teller. He was interviewed by FBI Special Agent Matt Shelley and Navajo Criminal Investigator Mike Henderson.

Defendant was advised of his Miranda rights both orally and in writing at the beginning of the interview. Defendant consented to be interviewed and signed an advice of rights form. The interview was audio recorded, and the recording has been transcribed. See Doc. 50-1.

Defendant told the agents that he was almost 40 years old and had received his GED degree. He said he had been drinking the night of his arrest with his son, Gage. He said that he and Gage visited [1022]*1022Tsosie, and the three of them later obtained a ride from Valerie Apachito before being pulled over and arrested for public intoxication.

When asked about the knife thrown from the vehicle, Defendant acknowledged that he had thrown the knife. He explained that he and Tsosie were both convicted felons and therefore sought to discard the weapon before being arrested. Defendant denied any knowledge of Virgil Teller’s murder.

Agent Shelley then told Defendant that Teller’s blood had been found on the knife. Agent Shelley observed that there had to be an explanation as to why Teller’s blood was on a knife Defendant had thrown from the car, and told Defendant that he had “one shot” to provide an explanation. Doc. 50-1 at 22.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
111 F. Supp. 3d 1020, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78537, 2015 WL 3657587, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-goldtooth-azd-2015.