Rankin v. State, CR 99-97.

• Citation: 338 Ark. 723,1 S.W.3d 14
• Decision Date: 07 October 1999
• Docket Number: No. CR 99-97.,CR 99-97.
• Parties: Roderick Leshun RANKIN v. STATE of Arkansas.
• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas

1 S.W.3d 14

338 Ark. 723

Roderick Leshun RANKIN v. STATE of Arkansas.

No. CR 99-97.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

October 7, 1999.

Gene E. McKissic, Cross, Kearney & McKissic, Pine Bluff, for appellant.

Mark Pryor, Att'y Gen., by: Michael C. Angel, Ass't Att'y Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.

ANNABELLE CLINTON IMBER, Justice.

Roderick Leshun Rankin, the appellant, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the capital murders of Zena Reynolds, her mother Ernestine Halford, and her stepfather Nathaniel Halford. In his first appeal, Mr. Rankin raised six points of appeal. We concluded that most of his assignments of error were meritless or procedurally barred from review. Rankin v. State, 329 Ark. 379, 948 S.W.2d 397 (1997). However, we held that Mr. Rankin's argument concerning the admission of his incriminating custodial statements was well taken because the record contained no account of a hearing or ruling on Mr. Rankin's suppression motion. Id. We remanded the case, with instructions to the trial court to "conduct a hearing on the record for the limited purpose of determining whether Mr. Rankin's statements were made after knowingly and intelligently waiving his right against self incrimination." Id. As instructed, the trial court held the hearing on February 25, and March 2, 1998. Mr. Rankin's motion to suppress the incriminating statements was eventually denied by the trial court on October 6, 1998. That ruling is the subject of this second appeal by Mr. Rankin.

The facts surrounding this case are laid out in detail in Rankin v. State, supra. The murders occurred in the early morning hours of December 27, 1994. Based on the statement of Mr. Rankin's girlfriend, Sonyae Reynolds, who was hiding in a closet in the victims' home during the attack, Mr. Rankin became the prime suspect in the murders. At approximately 8:00 a.m. that same day, Pine Bluff police officers went to the house where Mr. Rankin lived with his mother, Mrs. Elaine Rankin. With the consent of Mrs. Rankin, they conducted a search of the premises until she withdrew her consent. Mr. Rankin was placed under arrest and transported to the police station, where he was placed in a holding cell. At 10:43 a.m., Detective James Cooper read Mr. Rankin a form entitled "Rights Form" and verbally advised him of the Miranda rights contained in the form. Mr. Rankin responded verbally that he understood his rights and initialed each component of the form before signing his full name at the bottom of the form. Detective Arless Hudgins also witnessed the execution of the form. Mr. Rankin did not ask any questions about the form and appeared to be calm and quiet. Detective Cooper then began questioning Mr. Rankin about the murders. Throughout the morning hours, Mr. Rankin denied any involvement in the murders. At approximately 12:00 noon, the questioning was suspended for a lunch break, during which time Mr. Rankin was provided with a hamburger and a drink. After a break of approximately twenty minutes, Detective Cooper resumed the questioning. He accused Mr. Rankin of lying and asked him if he needed some time alone to think about the situation. Mr. Rankin indicated that he did want some time alone. Before Detective Cooper left the interrogation room, someone slid a note under the door stating that a gun, believed to be the murder weapon, had been found. Detective Cooper then left the room and conferred with Detective Terry Addison about showing the gun to Mr. Rankin. The two officers then entered the room and showed the gun to Mr. Rankin, who responded, "You don't have to show me that because I'm going to talk to you." At 1:20 p.m., Detective Cooper began recording Mr. Rankin's confession to the three murders. During the confession, Mr. Rankin was upset and crying. The tape recording of the confession ended at 1:27 p.m. He was then fingerprinted and photographed. At that time, he asked to see his mother and his request was granted.

Later that same day, around 4:15 p.m., Detective Cooper went to the Jefferson County jail to conduct a second interview with Mr. Rankin. Detective Cooper followed the same procedure he had used earlier in the day to advise Mr. Rankin of his Miranda rights. After Mr. Rankin signed a second Rights Form, Detective Cooper began recording another statement at 4:18 p.m. However, Mr. Rankin terminated the second interview at 4:22 p.m. when he turned the tape recorder off and stated that he no longer wished to talk to Detective Cooper.

At the motion-to-suppress hearing, Mr. Rankin argued that as a result of fatigue, youth, lack of education, mild retardation, and inability to understand the nature of the questioning, he did not make a knowing and intelligent waiver of his constitutional right against self-incrimination. He also argued that he did not voluntarily give the recorded incriminating statements. The trial court found that the State had "clearly met its burden of establishing both a knowing and intelligent waiver of rights as well as the voluntariness of Mr. Rankin's confession" and denied Mr. Rankin's motion to suppress. On appeal, Mr. Rankin asserts that his statements should have been suppressed because they were involuntary and they were not the product of a knowing and intelligent waiver. We disagree.

I. Voluntariness

For his first point on appeal, Mr. Rankin alleges that he did not voluntarily make the incriminating statements to the police. When determining whether a statement is voluntary, the issue on appeal is whether the statement was the product of a free and deliberate choice rather than intimidation, coercion, or deception. Britt v. State, 334 Ark. 142, 974 S.W.2d 436 (1998). In making this determination, we review the totality of the circumstances, and reverse the trial court only if its decision was clearly erroneous. Id. Relevant factors to this determination are the age, education, and intelligence of the accused; the lack of advice as to his constitutional rights; the length of the detention; the repeated and prolonged nature of the questioning; and the use of mental or physical punishment. Id. Two other pertinent factors are the statements made by the interrogating officers and the vulnerability of the defendant. Conner v. State, 334 Ark. 457, 982 S.W.2d 655 (1998).

Mr. Rankin alleges that the police told him during the interrogation that his brother and mother were going to be held at the police station until he gave an incriminating statement, and that such threats caused him to give the incriminating statements. Both sides agree that Mr. Rankin's brother, Mr. Rodney Rankin, was being held at the station on the same morning Mr. Rankin was being interrogated.¹ Mr. Rankin's mother also was present at the police station on the same day. However, Detective Cooper testified that he did not know that the mother was in the station until after the confession had been obtained. Detective Cooper also testified that he did not know that Mr. Rankin's brother was at the station and being questioned by other officers at the same time he was interrogating Mr. Rankin. The credibility of witnesses who testify at a suppression hearing about the circumstances surrounding a defendant's in-custody confession is for the trial judge to determine, and we defer to the superior position of the trial judge in matters of credibility. Wright v. State, 335 Ark. 395, 983 S.W.2d 397 (1998). Even if Mr. Rankin's testimony were believed by the trial court, the police may use some psychological tactics and coercive statements in eliciting a custodial statement from the accused so long as the means employed are not calculated to procure an untrue statement, and the accused's free will is not completely overborne. Conner v. State, supra. We have previously held that an officer's threat to arrest the accused's wife, although obviously intended to influence the accused, did not render the statement involuntary. Hood v. State, 329 Ark. 21, 947 S.W.2d 328 (1997). In this case, Mr. Rankin decided to give his confession right after Detectives Cooper and Addison showed him the murder weapon. Under these circumstances, we are unable to say that Mr. Rankin's free will was completely overborne by any alleged threat to detain his mother and brother, or that such a threat procured an untrue statement.

Mr. Rankin also contends that his statements were rendered involuntary because he was held in custody for five hours without being advised of the nature of the charges against him and without being given the opportunity to make any phone calls before he gave his confession. In Wright v. State, supra, we determined that a custodial statement was voluntary when the total length of detention from the time of the arrest to the time of the confession was less than six hours. Likewise, Mr. Rankin was held for less than six hours before he confessed. There is no evidence that Mr. Rankin was mistreated or physically or mentally punished during his detention. Nor is there any evidence that the police made any promises in return for his confession. Finally, Detective Cooper testified that Mr. Rankin was advised that he was a murder suspect. Detective Cooper also did not recall Mr. Rankin ever asking to make a phone call. As previously stated, we defer to the trial court in matters of credibility. Wright v. State, supra. Based on this record, we cannot say...