United States v. Ronnie S. Mills (92-5324) and Velinda S. Naftzger (92-5505)

1 F.3d 414, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19392
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJuly 29, 1993
Docket92-5324, 92-5505
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 1 F.3d 414 (United States v. Ronnie S. Mills (92-5324) and Velinda S. Naftzger (92-5505)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Ronnie S. Mills (92-5324) and Velinda S. Naftzger (92-5505), 1 F.3d 414, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19392 (6th Cir. 1993).

Opinion

ALAN E. NORRIS, Circuit Judge.

Defendants, Ronnie Saunders Mills and Velinda Sue Naftzger, appeal their convictions and sentences for pharmacy burglary in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2118.

I.

On August 11,1991, defendants drove from Tennessee to Virginia looking for a drugstore to burglarize. Failing to find a desirable target in Virginia, the pair drove the next day to a mall in Harlan, Kentucky, where they observed an unattended pharmacy. De *417 fendants broke into the store and stole drugs worth over $2,000, a silverware chest, and a diamond ring. Two witnesses to the incident alerted Kentucky police, who in turn notified Virginia authorities. A Virginia police officer pursued defendants as Mills drove his car at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, weaving in and out of traffic, along a two-lane mountain road between Kentucky and Virginia. In an attempt to intercept defendants’ car, the Police Chief of Pennington Gap, Virginia, Curtis Minton, pulled his unmarked cruiser onto the road. Mills swerved to avoid the cruiser but lost control of his car and hit Minton’s vehicle. Minton sustained serious injuries.

Mills entered a guilty plea to one count of aiding and abetting the commission of pharmacy burglary, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2118(b) and (c)(1), and received a sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment. Following a jury trial, Naftzger was convicted on multiple counts, including aiding and abetting the commission of pharmacy burglary. She was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment, with a supervised release term of six years.

II.

A. Introduction of Incriminating Statements

Naftzger asserts that the trial court’s admission of several incriminating statements she made after her arraignment violated her Sixth and Fifth Amendment rights. This court reviews the district court’s factual findings on suppression issues for clear error, while analyzing the district court’s legal conclusions under a de novo standard. United States v. Williams, 962 F.2d 1218, 1221 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. ———, 113 S.Ct. 264, 121 L.Ed.2d 194 (1992).

After Naftzger’s arrest, FBI agents advised her of her Miranda rights and she executed a waiver. She then denied active participation in the pharmacy burglary. Following that interview, two agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms spoke with Naftzger about an unrelated arson investigation into the burning of code-fendant Mills’ store. Naftzger answered affirmatively when the agents asked if she had been advised of and understood her rights, and she acknowledged the waiver she had just signed. Naftzger then gave a sworn, taped statement about the arson. This interview was interrupted when she had to be escorted up one floor for her arraignment. The ATF agents attended the arraignment and observed the magistrate advise Naftzger of her constitutional rights and the charges against her, and appoint an attorney for her.

According to the ATF agents, Naftzger approached them after the arraignment and asked to speak to them. The agents did not re-advise her of her Miranda rights. Although Naftzger began by discussing the arson again, she soon brought up the burglary and her concern that she had never seen the diamond ring she and Mills allegedly stole. Her appointed attorney was not present at this conference. Naftzger then admitted she and Mills had committed fifteen or sixteen burglaries together. She also admitted to an active role in the burglary of the pharmacy. The district court denied Naftz-ger’s motion to suppress these admissions.

Naftzger asserts that introduction of testimony about the admissions is at odds with the Supreme Court’s decision in Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625, 106 S.Ct. 1404, 89 L.Ed.2d 631 (1986). The Jackson Court held that “if police initiate interrogation after a defendant’s assertion, at an arraignment or similar proceeding, of his right to counsel, any waiver of the defendant’s right to counsel for that police-initiated interrogation is invalid.” Jackson, 475 U.S. at 636, 106 S.Ct. at 1411. The Court relied upon Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), which had previously held that once a person in custody has “expressed his desire to deal with the police only through counsel,” the police violate his or her Fifth Amendment rights if they initiate further questioning before counsel is made available, “unless the accused himself initiates further communication ... with the police.” Jackson, 475 U.S. at 626, 106 S.Ct. at 1405 (quoting Edwards, 451 U.S. at 484-85, 101 S.Ct. at 1884r-85). The Court in Jackson extended the Edwards rule to the Sixth Amendment context, concluding that a defendant’s invocation of his or her Sixth Amend *418 ment right to counsel at an arraignment likewise prevents further police-initiated interrogation about that offense. Id. 475 U.S. at 636, 106 S.Ct. at 1411.

We agree with Naftzger that her request for counsel at arraignment would normally suffice to invoke her Jackson right to have counsel present at police questioning about the pharmacy burglary. However, the record is clear that the agents’ discussion with Naftzger after her arraignment was prompted when she approached them. Jackson’s prophylactic rule, like the rule in Edwards v. Arizona, applies only to “police-initiated questioning.” See id. at 635, 636, 106 S.Ct. at 1410, 1411 (emphasis added); see also Murphy v. Holland, 845 F.2d 83, 85 (4th Cir.) (finding no Jackson violation because defendant initiated conversation), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 908, 109 S.Ct. 258, 102 L.Ed.2d 246 (1988); Smith v. Dugger, 840 F.2d 787, 794 (11th Cir.1988) (Jackson inapplicable because defendant clearly initiated discussion), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1047, 110 S.Ct. 1511, 108 L.Ed.2d 647 (1990).

After a suppression hearing, the district court found “credible and believable” the testimony of one of the ATF agents that Naftz-ger asked to speak to the agents as she left the courtroom. Naftzger offered no evidence to refute the agent’s testimony. Therefore, the district court’s finding that Naftzger initiated the conference is not clearly erroneous and the court was not required to exclude the incriminating statements she made in her post-arraignment discussion with ATF agents.

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1 F.3d 414, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ronnie-s-mills-92-5324-and-velinda-s-naftzger-ca6-1993.