Wright v. State
| Decision Date | 17 December 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 983 S.W.2d 397,335 Ark. 395 |
| Parties | Dheaslee WRIGHT, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 98-509. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
W. Ray Nickle, Jonesboro, for Appellant.
Mac Golden, Assistant Attorney General, Little Rock, for Appellee.
Appellant Dheaslee Wright appeals the judgment of the Mississippi County Circuit Court convicting him of the capital murder of seventy-two-year-old Russ Hinkle and sentencing him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Appellant argues on appeal that the trial court erred in admitting his taped confession, which he asserts was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights, and in refusing to instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of duress. Our jurisdiction of this appeal is pursuant to Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 1-2(a)(2). We find no error and affirm.
The record reveals that on November 14, 1996, Appellant and three other young males stopped at a rest area along Interstate 55 near Blytheville, on their way to a basketball game in another town. All four males were armed with guns. One went into the restroom while Appellant and the other two males were near the vending machine outside the restroom. Appellant and the other two males entered the restroom and saw the first male arguing with the victim Mr. Hinkle. Appellant heard the victim telling the first male that he was not going to give him anything. The victim started cursing and began pushing the first male. The first male and another male then pulled out their guns. Appellant stated that the victim hit him in the jaw, and that he then pulled his gun from his shoulder holster, cocked it, and shot the victim multiple times. After the shooting, the four males fled the scene.
Appellant, who was sixteen years old at the time of the crime, was arrested two days later and taken to the Mississippi County Jail. The following morning, Appellant gave a taped confession to the murder. Appellant moved to suppress his statement on the grounds that (1) it was taken after he had already exercised his right to remain silent under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and (2) it was not voluntarily given after a knowing and intelligent waiver of his rights.
The trial court held a hearing on the suppression motion, during which the following facts were revealed. Appellant was arrested by Deputy Robb Rounsaville of the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department on November 16, 1996, at approximately 6:30 p.m. Immediately thereafter, at 6:40 p.m., Deputy Rounsaville read Appellant his Miranda rights from a statement-of-rights form. This was witnessed by two other officers: Arkansas State Police Trooper Lance Huey and Blytheville Police Officer Alice Bumpus. Deputy Rounsaville asked Appellant if he wished to make a statement, and Appellant replied that he did not. Appellant did not request to speak to an attorney or his mother. Deputy Rounsaville then placed Appellant in his patrol car and transported him to the Mississippi County Jail. No further inquiry was made by the officers.
Approximately one hour later, Blytheville Police officers took custody of Appellant and transported him to the Blytheville Police Department to inquire about another crime, a burglary. At 7:43 p.m., Sergeant Joel Sparks informed Appellant of his rights from a statement-of-rights form. This took place in the holding cell at the Blytheville Police Department, in the presence of Officer Tommy Warren. Sparks stated that he did not threaten or coerce Appellant, nor did he make any promises to him. Appellant signed the waiver form and did not ask for an attorney. Sparks then asked Appellant if he wanted to answer some questions, to which Appellant replied, "Well, what do you want to know?" Sparks then questioned Appellant about a gun taken during a burglary that Appellant was suspected of having. Appellant advised Sparks that he had taken the gun apart and threw it into the senior citizen's pond behind Wal-Mart. Sparks stated that at that point, Appellant hung his head. Sparks told him that he needed to locate the gun before a small child found it. Appellant then stated that he wanted to speak with the detective that he had spoken to a couple of weeks earlier. Appellant did not know the officer's name, but when he described him, Sparks concluded that he meant Detective Ross Thompson.
When Detective Thompson arrived, at 8:27 p.m., he informed Appellant of his rights from a statement-of-rights form. Sergeant Sparks was present at the time. Again, Appellant signed the form and indicated that he was willing to answer questions. Appellant did not ask to speak with an attorney or his mother. Thompson testified that he did not threaten or coerce Appellant, nor did he make any promises to him in exchange for his agreement to give a statement. Thompson stated that he did not recall discussing the subject of bond with Appellant, but that it was possible that the issue was raised. Sparks stated that there was no discussion of bond or the seriousness of the charge, but that at one point Appellant asked if he was going to be allowed to go home, and Thompson told him he could not.
Thompson stated that after he informed Appellant of his rights, they began to talk about the incident at the rest area. The interview lasted from one and one-half to two hours. It was not tape-recorded. They talked about the weapon involved in the shooting, and Appellant agreed to show the officers where he had hidden it. Thereafter, Appellant was transported to the area where the gun was hidden. With the assistance of Detective Marvin Crawford, Thompson recovered the gun and the shoulder holster.
Upon returning to the police department, at approximately 12:10 a.m., Detective Thompson again advised Appellant of his rights from a statement-of-rights form. Detective Crawford was present at that time. The detectives conducted a tape-recorded interview of Appellant at 12:20 a.m., during which the detectives detailed the previous times that night that Appellant had been informed of his rights and had agreed to waive them. Each time, Appellant acknowledged that he had been advised of his rights, and that he had signed the rights form. Appellant stated that he understood his rights fully and was voluntarily agreeing to answer questions from Thompson and Crawford. Appellant also stated that he had not been promised anything for his statement, and that he had not been threatened, pressured, or coerced into making a statement. In fact, Appellant indicated that none of his prior statements that evening were the result of pressure or coercion. The following exchange occurred between Detectives Thompson and Crawford and Appellant:
During the course of the interview, Appellant confessed to shooting Mr. Hinkle, but claimed that he had acted in self-defense. The interview concluded approximately forty minutes later, at 1:00 a.m.
At the suppression hearing, Appellant testified that he told Officers Sparks and Warren that he did not want to make a statement. He stated that he also asked to speak with his mother and an attorney, Ms. Cook. He stated that Sparks told him that he could not talk to anyone until he made a statement. He stated that Sparks later approached him alone and told him that if he cooperated, he would be given a lesser charge and allowed to get a bond. He stated that Sparks explained that it was not possible to obtain a bond on a charge of capital murder. He stated that he then agreed to cooperate.
On cross-examination, Appellant stated that when he was read his rights immediately after his arrest, he acknowledged to the officer that he understood those rights. He stated that he understood his right to remain silent. He stated that he told the other officers that he understood his rights, and that he only agreed to waive them because he thought he was going to get a deal. He later claimed that he did not really understand his rights and that he had lied to the officers when he told them that he did. He admitted, however, that he had been advised of his rights by Detective Thompson on October 24, 1996, and that he stated then that he understood his rights and agreed to make a statement. Again, Appellant claimed that he lied when he told the detective that he understood his rights.
The trial court found that Appellant knew, understood, and comprehended his constitutional rights, and that he voluntarily agreed to waive those rights and speak to the officers. In making this finding, the trial court considered Appellant's age (he was sixteen years old at the time); his mental ability and capacity (he had a reading and learning disability and a functioning I.Q. of 86); the total length of his detention (between five to six hours); and the lack of any evidence of mistreatment by the police. The trial court found further that there was no violation of Appellant's Miranda rights resulting from his being questioned after he had initially indicated that he did not wish to make a statement. The trial court pointed to the fact that approximately one hour had lapsed between his initial request to remain silent and his being advised of his rights the second time, and that...
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