State v. Dahlquist
| Decision Date | 24 January 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 950757-CA,950757-CA |
| Citation | 931 P.2d 862 |
| Parties | 308 Utah Adv. Rep. 35 STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Brandon A. DAHLQUIST, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Utah Court of Appeals |
Kent E. Snider, Ogden, for Appellant.
Jan Graham, Attorney General, and J. Kevin Murphy, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Appeals Division, Salt Lake City, for Appellee.
Before WILKINS, Associate P.J., and BILLINGS and ORME, JJ.
Defendant Brandon Dahlquist appeals his conviction for murder, a first degree felony under Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-203(2) (Supp.1996). 1 We reverse and remand for a new trial.
On March 12, 1994, Troy Weston's body was found at the south end of Willard Bay in Box Elder County. Earlier that morning, a distinctively-painted, white and maroon Chevy Blazer had appeared at Weston's home. Weston's father noted two males in the Blazer. At approximately 10:00 a.m., Weston joined the two men and left in the Blazer.
Later that morning, codefendant Travis Telford's sister saw Dahlquist, Telford, and an unknown male in Dahlquist's Blazer near Godfather's Pizza in Ogden. Dahlquist, Telford, and their passenger drove off together around 11:30 a.m.
Around noon, Air Force Captain Michael Chulick was driving to the south Willard Bay area to exercise his dogs when he encountered a "white and brown" Chevy Blazer parked in the road. While driving around the Blazer, Captain Chulick saw three Caucasian males in the vehicle. As Captain Chulick began exercising his dogs some distance away, he heard periodic gunshots near the In their investigation, the police found several used .22 caliber casings on the road near the location where Weston's body was found. Six .22 caliber slugs were recovered from Weston's body. The Chips Ahoy cookie box bore a thumbprint from Dahlquist and a fingerprint from Telford.
Blazer. Captain Chulick observed "two people run to the vehicle and then run away from the vehicle and then back to the vehicle and peel out." He walked toward where the Blazer had been parked and noticed what appeared to be targets set up for shooting practice. He testified that these "targets" included a soda bottle, a cleanser bottle, a cigarette box, and a Chips Ahoy cookie box. Captain Chulick, seeing nothing amiss, departed. Later that afternoon, Judy and Dee Spinden were walking their dog in the area when they discovered the body of Troy Weston in a ditch. The Spindens immediately notified the police
Several days after the murder, the police located the Blazer, which was owned by Dahlquist's father. It had been painted gray by an acquaintance of Telford. Inside the Blazer, the police found the top of the Chips Ahoy cookie box that had been found at the murder scene.
On March 14, 1994, Dahlquist was arrested on a bench warrant for an unrelated forgery charge. The next day, the following interview was conducted by Detective Dale Ward: 2
On March 31, 1994, warrants were issued for the arrests of Dahlquist and Telford for the murder of Troy Weston. Thereafter, while serving time in prison on the unrelated forgery charge and awaiting his trial for murder, Dahlquist became acquainted with a fellow inmate. According to the inmate, Dahlquist admitted to him that he took Weston to Willard Bay and killed him because he "was a rat." Dahlquist allegedly confided to the inmate that Telford had "spilled his guts" about the murder and was trying to place the primary blame on him.
On August 31, 1994, Dahlquist moved to suppress his statement to Detective Ward on the ground that it was obtained in violation of Miranda and his Fifth Amendment right to have counsel present during custodial interrogation. The trial court denied Dahlquist's motion. Subsequently, Dahlquist's trial counsel obtained a copy of an audio recording of Dahlquist's statement. Based upon additional information allegedly found on the audio recording, 3 a second motion to suppress was made. The trial court again denied Dahlquist's motion.
After the State decided to try Dahlquist and Telford jointly, Dahlquist filed a motion to sever the trial. The trial court denied the motion, but ordered that any statements by Telford could be used only against him, and not against Dahlquist, since Telford would not testify and thus could not be cross-examined by Dahlquist. Later, the court ordered that the pretrial statements made by Telford be redacted to exclude any reference to Dahlquist's name or existence. Subsequently, counsel for Dahlquist and Telford filed a joint request to sever their trials. The trial court denied the joint motion to sever.
Dahlquist and Telford were tried before a jury. The jury found Dahlquist guilty of one count of first degree murder, with a firearm enhancement. He now appeals. 4
Dahlquist contends that his Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to counsel, due process, and freedom from self-incrimination were violated when the trial court failed to suppress his statement to Detective Ward. Dahlquist also argues that his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to confrontation were violated when the trial court failed to sever his trial from that of his codefendant, a problem he claims was not cured by admitting codefendant Telford's out-of-court statements as evidence only against Telford. Dahlquist asserts that his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to
confrontation were also violated by the closing arguments of codefendant's counsel. Finally, Dahlquist contends the trial court erred when it enhanced his prison sentence by an indeterminate term of one to five years, based upon the use of a firearm.
In seeking a new trial, Dahlquist claims Detective Ward failed to honor the invocation of his right to the presence of an attorney as required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). "When a trial court bases its 'ultimate conclusions concerning the waiver of defendant's Miranda rights ... upon essentially undisputed facts, in particular the transcript of [an officer's] colloquy with defendant,' its conclusions present questions of law which we review under a correction of error standard." State v. Gutierrez, 864 P.2d 894, 898 (Utah App.1993) (quoting State v. Sampson, 808 P.2d 1100, 1103 (Utah App.1990), cert. denied, 817 P.2d 327 (Utah 1991), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 914, 112 S.Ct. 1282, 117 L.Ed.2d 507 (1992)).
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranties that "no person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." U.S. Const. amend. V. In Miranda, the United States Supreme Court held that law enforcement officers must protect this privilege by informing an accused person of his or her constitutional rights before engaging in custodial interrogation. 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612. Those rights include the right to have an attorney present. Id. Interrogation must cease if the accused invokes his or her right to consult with an attorney, and, with limited exceptions, the prosecution may not use any statements made by the accused taken in violation of Miranda 's protections. Id. Accord Arizona v. Roberson, 486 U.S. 675, 680-82, 108 S.Ct. 2093, 2097-98, 100 L.Ed.2d 704 (1988); Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 484, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 1884-85, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981).
In the instant case, it is undisputed that Dahlquist invoked his right to consult with an attorney several times during the interview with Detective Ward. However, the State...
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