State ex rel. Dechristopher v. Gaujot
| Decision Date | 16 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. 20-0601,20-0601 |
| Citation | 856 S.E.2d 223 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of West Virginia EX REL. Perri DECHRISTOPHER Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney, Petitioner v. The Honorable Phillip D. GAUJOT, Judge of the Circuit Court of Monongalia County, and Cesar Felix, Respondents |
Stephen S. Fitz, Esq., Perri DeChristopher, Esq., Prosecuting Attorney Monongalia County, Morgantown, West Virginia, Counsel for Petitioner
Matthew C. Brock, Esq., Morgantown, West Virginia, Counsel for Respondent, Cesar Felix
Cesar Felix was working at a restaurant in Morgantown, West Virginia on the same night when a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted after leaving the restaurant. When Morgantown police wanted to interview Mr. Felix, he voluntarily went to the station and brought with him a close family friend to act as an interpreter. Mr. Felix, who speaks Spanish as his primary language, denied any involvement in the crime in his statement to the detective and consented to a DNA search by cheek swab. After the DNA evidence linked Mr. Felix to the crime, he was charged with two counts of sexual assault. But Mr. Felix successfully moved to suppress his statement and the DNA evidence arguing among other things that he was not given Miranda1 warnings or advised that he had a right to refuse his consent to the DNA search.
Perri DeChristopher, the Prosecuting Attorney of Monongalia County (State) now asks us to exercise our original jurisdiction and grant a writ to prohibit the circuit court from enforcing its order suppressing Mr. Felix's statement and DNA evidence. We grant the State's request because the circuit court committed clear legal error. Mr. Felix was not in custody when he gave his statement, so no Miranda warnings were required. And considering all the circumstances, Mr. Felix's statement was voluntary and not the product of coercive policy activity. So, Mr. Felix's Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination2 and due process rights3 were not violated. Likewise, because Mr. Felix consented to provide a sample for DNA testing, his Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches was not violated.4 For these reasons, we grant the writ of prohibition.
In the early morning hours of May 14, 2016, a woman (the victim) notified authorities that a "Mexican looking" man had sexually assaulted her after she left a restaurant, Casa di Amici. The victim stated that the man offered to give her a ride home because she was intoxicated, and that she got in his car and eventually lost consciousness. Then, she woke up to find that the man had parked the car and was sexually assaulting her. After breaking free, the victim notified authorities and she was taken to the hospital where a sexual assault examination was performed. The following day, the victim reviewed Casa di Amici's surveillance videos and identified Mr. Felix as a possible suspect.5
Mr. Felix was working at Casa di Amici on the night of the alleged sexual assault. Detective Daniel Alejandro Trejo of the Morgantown Police Department left messages with the restaurant's manager and requested that Mr. Felix, and other employees, contact him for questioning.
Mr. Felix asked Stephanie Mayhew—a family member who is fluent in Spanish and works as a freelance interpreter—to help him speak with the police.6 Mr. Felix speaks Spanish as his primary language. At Mr. Felix's request, Ms. Mayhew contacted the manager at Casa di Amici who gave her Det. Trejo's telephone number. On August 3, 2016, Ms. Mayhew telephoned Det. Trejo, again at the request of Mr. Felix. Detective Trejo explained that he was investigating a sexual assault and needed to speak with Mr. Felix. But, Detective Trejo did not say that Mr. Felix was a suspect. Ms. Mayhew explained that Mr. Felix wanted her to interpret for him and asked if they could come to the police station that day. Detective Trejo agreed.7
When Mr. Felix and Ms. Mayhew went to the police station to meet Det. Trejo, Ms. Mayhew translated for Mr. Felix during questioning, asked her own questions of Mr. Felix, and answered some of Det. Trejo's questions herself. Mr. Felix denied any involvement with the sexual assault. Ms. Mayhew, believing Mr. Felix was innocent, suggested that he submit a DNA sample. When Det. Trejo asked if he was willing to submit a DNA sample, Mr. Felix agreed. Detective Trejo provided a Permission to Search form and had Ms. Mayhew explain the form to Mr. Felix.8 Mr. Felix signed the form and performed the cheek swab on himself to submit a DNA sample.9 After the interview was concluded, Mr. Felix left the police station and was not placed in custody. This interview was videorecorded and lasted about 45 minutes.
After the results from the DNA test linked Mr. Felix to the crime,10 he was charged by indictment with one count of second-degree sexual assault and one count of first-degree sexual assault in January 2020.11
In April 2020, Mr. Felix moved to suppress the statement he made during the August 3, 2016 police interview, claiming that it "was obtained illegally in violation of [his] rights as enunciated under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article 3-5 of the Constitution of West Virginia, regarding his right to remain silent" as construed in Miranda . Mr. Felix also moved to suppress his DNA evidence, claiming that the search "violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 3-6 of the Constitution of West Virginia, regarding his right to privacy[.]" In support of his motion, Mr. Felix stated that during the police interview Ms. Mayhew, "act[ed] on behalf of and as an agent of the Morgantown Police Department," because he was not sufficiently able to "speak, read, write, or comprehend the English Language." He stated that neither Det. Trejo or Ms. Mayhew informed him of all the consequences of what he was asked to sign, and he did not feel that Ms. Mayhew "accurately and completely translated or described much of the interview questions" or the document he signed.
In its response to Mr. Felix's motion to suppress, the State argued that Mr. Felix's volunteered statements were not barred by the Fifth Amendment and that Miranda did not apply because Mr. Felix was not in custody. The State also noted that Mr. Felix not only verbally agreed to provide a DNA sample, he also signed written authorization for the search. Finally, the State characterized Mr. Felix's attempt to claim that Ms. Mayhew acted as an agent of the Morgantown Police Department a "complete fabrication and a misstatement of the facts [because Ms. Mayhew] was a friend and associate of the Defendant and [Ms. Mayhew] specifically told the Detective in a recorded phone call that the Defendant asked her to translate for him."
On July 13, 2020, the circuit court held a hearing on Mr. Felix's motion to suppress and provided him with a court-appointed interpreter.12 Defense counsel called Det. Trejo and Ms. Mayhew as witnesses. Mr. Felix did not testify at the suppression hearing.
Detective Trejo testified that he did not give Mr. Felix Miranda warnings because it was a noncustodial interview. Although Mr. Felix did not speak much English during the interview, Det. Trejo stated that it appeared Mr. Felix "understood English pretty well" and comprehended the questions asked. When asked by defense counsel if Ms. Mayhew "sort of took over the interview" by asking questions herself, Det. Trejo stated, "I don't believe so."
Detective Trejo also testified that Mr. Felix agreed to submit a DNA sample; he gave the Permission to Search form to Mr. Felix, had Ms. Mayhew read the form to him, and Mr. Felix expressed no difficulty in understanding it. Detective Trejo stated that he handed the swab to Mr. Felix who performed the cheek swab himself.
Ms. Mayhew13 testified that she works as a freelance interpreter, has a bachelor's degree in foreign languages, and is fluent in Spanish. Ms. Mayhew stated that she knows Mr. Felix well and provides interpretive services to his family.14 Ms. Mayhew stated that she believed that Mr. Felix understood what took place during the police interview:
The assistant prosecuting attorney asked Ms. Mayhew to clarify whether Mr. Felix agreed to submit his DNA sample after she suggested that he offer it:
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