State v. Hughes, WD 67320.

Decision Date30 September 2008
Docket NumberNo. WD 67320.,WD 67320.
Citation272 S.W.3d 246
PartiesSTATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Phillip A. HUGHES, Appellant.
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals

Frederick Joseph Ernst, Kansis City, MO, for appellant.

Shaun J. Mackelprang, Jefferson City, MO, for respondent.

Before JAMES M. SMART, JR., P.J., MICHAEL A. WOLFF, Sp. J.,1 and ALOK AHUJA, J.

ALOK AHUJA, Judge.

Appellant Phillip Hughes was convicted after a bench trial of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, and was sentenced as a prior offender to two concurrent thirty-year terms of incarceration. In this direct appeal Hughes raises a single issue: whether the trial court erroneously admitted into evidence incriminating statements Hughes made while in custody and after waiving his Miranda2 rights, where the police engaged him in conversation for approximately twenty minutes before advising him of his rights and soliciting the waiver. Because we conclude that the manner in which Hughes was interrogated did not violate his rights under Miranda and related cases, we affirm.

I. Factual Background and Proceedings Below.

On December 3, 2003, James Kensinger was found dead in an apartment rented by Melissa Walker in Kansas City, Missouri. Kensinger had been stabbed multiple times and hit with a blunt object.

Police determined that Kensinger was also a resident of the apartment building where his body was found, and that he owned two cars: a red Chrysler van and a grey Ford Tempo. Neither of Kensinger's cars were at the apartment building, and the police issued orders to pick up anyone found driving either vehicle.

The police also learned that Hughes had been seen at Walker's apartment the day before Kensinger's body was found.

On December 12, 2003, Hughes and Walker were stopped in Kensinger's Ford Tempo in Seminole County, Florida. They were both arrested. Kansas City police detectives arrived in Florida late on the night of December 12, and proceeded to question both Hughes and Walker. Hughes' interrogation began at approximately 4:00 a.m. on December 13. The entire interrogation was videotaped.

The interrogation began with officers informing Hughes that they were in Florida to investigate the homicide of the man found in Walker's apartment, and that the interrogation was Hughes' opportunity "to tell us what you know about it." The officers stated, however, that before discussing the murder they first wanted to get some background information.

Although Hughes ultimately read and executed a form waiving his rights to remain silent and to the assistance of an attorney, the police officers questioned him for approximately twenty minutes before informing him of his rights. During that twenty minutes, the discussion covered a range of topics. The officers first asked Hughes to confirm his name and birthdate. They then asked him where he was from. This led to a discussion of Hughes' life in St. Louis and the surrounding area, his last address there, his relationships with family members, and his prior criminal and employment history. Despite difficulties securing suitable permanent employment (which he blamed on his criminal record), Hughes told the officers that "I've got skills. I'm not a retard. I'm smart, I'm good, I'm quick."

In response to the officers' questioning, Hughes explained that he had come to Kansas City to reunite with his girlfriend, Kelene (or "Kelly") Badalamenti. The officers told Hughes that they had spoken with Badalamenti, but were not sure if she had been arrested. The officers asked Hughes about the nature of his relationship with Badalementi, and with Walker (in whose apartment Kensinger's body had been found, and with whom Hughes was traveling when arrested).

The officers then asked Hughes questions about his tattoos, his experiences in school, his prior felony conviction for robbery, and problems he had experienced while incarcerated and while on parole for that offense.

During the course of this pre-Miranda conversation, Hughes became noticeably more relaxed and talkative. The officers evidently sought to put him at ease, expressing interest in (and understanding of) his difficulties, and laughing at his humor.

After approximately twenty minutes, the conversation paused, and the interrogating officers repeated that they were there to talk to Hughes about what had happened in Walker's apartment, and to give him a chance to tell his story. The officers told Hughes that they first needed to "make sure you're aware of your rights." Hughes responded that "I know what they are." Hughes also noted that no one had read him his rights or explained anything to him, and that "I've been left in the dark completely." Hughes said that no one had asked him anything about the case, although he had overheard the Florida officers talking about the reward they would likely receive for apprehending Hughes and Walker.

The officers then tendered Hughes a Miranda notice and waiver form. They asked him to read the waiver form aloud, which he did fluently. Hughes then executed the waiver form, and the discussion continued.

After Hughes executed the waiver form, the officers asked him if he knew they were coming, to which he responded: "I mean, I'm not stupid ... I knew you guys were gonna be here eventually, sooner or later, ... within 72 hours.... I knew you guys would be down here to question me."

Preliminaries concluded, Hughes then asked: "Where do we start? I mean, do you want me to start with how we came in contact with the car, or do you want me to start ... completely from the beginning?"

The officers asked Hughes to explain how he first met Walker. Hughes explained that, after coming to Kansas City to meet Badalementi, he had become friends with Walker, with whom Badalementi was staying. Hughes related that both Badalementi and Walker were using drugs heavily; although Hughes' relationship with Badalementi ended, he began to take drugs with Walker on a virtually continuous basis. During this time Hughes stated that he also met Kensinger, who lived upstairs from Walker and was also a heavy drug user.

Hughes stated that Kensinger would often rent out his vehicles in exchange for drug money. On the day Kensinger was killed, Kensinger permitted Hughes to use his Ford Tempo in exchange for some drugs. Hughes and Walker went out during the day in the Tempo. When they left, Brad Baker was in Walker's apartment; Hughes lent Baker a knife because Baker was worried that someone would try to break into Walker's apartment while Hughes and Walker were gone.

According to Hughes, when he and Walker returned to the apartment, they found Baker standing over Kensinger, who was lying on the kitchen floor. Baker was holding the knife Hughes had lent him. Hughes stated that he saw Baker stab Kensinger at least twice. Baker then assaulted Hughes, and in the ensuing fight Hughes said that his arm was cut. Baker ran out of the apartment, telling Hughes that he would return with his cousin to kill Hughes.

Hughes stated that he checked on Kensinger, but could find no pulse or other signs of life. Hughes attempted to clean and wrap the cut on his arm, which was bleeding profusely; he ultimately went to the hospital, where he received treatment under an assumed name. After getting stitches, Hughes and Walker returned to the apartment building by bus. Kensinger's cars were gone, and his body had been dragged into one of the apartment's bedrooms. Hughes stated that he did not enter the bedroom where Kensinger's body had been taken. He left the apartment. Hughes and Walker later retrieved Kensinger's Ford Tempo, and left Kansas City together.

At the end of the interrogation police took a DNA swab from Hughes, which matched blood found in several locations in Walker's apartment — most significantly, Hughes' DNA matched blood found on the cardboard box lying under Kensinger's body where it was ultimately found in the bedroom. Testimony at trial indicated that the drops of blood on the box were consistent with "passive bleeding," in which an individual is standing still while blood drips vertically from a wound.

Hughes was indicted on February 18, 2005, for second-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Hughes filed a motion to suppress the videotape of his interrogation. At an evidentiary hearing on the motion, the circuit court heard testimony from one of the interrogating officers, and received into evidence the interrogation videotape and Hughes' executed waiver form.

The trial court denied Hughes' motion to suppress in a written order. The court first noted that "defendant's participation in [the pre-waiver] part of the interview was totally voluntary" and "[t]here was nothing coercive in this interview." The court also observed that the officers were "filling out a background information document during this portion of [the] conversation," and that "no questions were asked relating to the offense." Accordingly, the court concluded that these pre-waiver discussions "did not constitute `interrogation' within the meaning of Miranda," because "[t]here is nothing in the recording to indicate that the questions asked during this interview constituted the type of interrogation designed to elicit incriminating statements from Mr. Hughes."3

The court also emphasized that "[t]here is no evidence to suggest that the detectives were not acting in good faith in conducting the initial background interview without first administering the Miranda warning. Nothing indicates that the law enforcement officers intentionally violated Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)." Finally, the court found that Hughes "was properly advised of his Miranda rights," and "knowingly and voluntarily signed a waiver of those rights."

The court reiterated its grounds for denying the suppression motion in...

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10 cases
  • State v. Juranek
    • United States
    • Nebraska Supreme Court
    • April 4, 2014
    ... ... See, State v. Hughes, 272 S.W.3d 246, 255 (Mo.App.2008) (officer builds rapport “to facilitate ... further interrogation”); Richard A. Leo, Questioning the ... ...
  • State v. Gaw
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • May 26, 2009
    ... ... Williams, 163 S.W.3d 522, 528 (Mo. App.2005); Glass, 136 S.W.3d at 511. None of those cases, other than State v. Hughes, 272 S.W.3d 246 (Mo.App.2008), considers whether the plurality decision, or instead Justice Kennedy's concurrence, provides the controlling rule ... ...
  • Kuhne v. Commonwealth
    • United States
    • Virginia Court of Appeals
    • November 6, 2012
    ... ... determined the scope of the Seibert holding, 4 a strong majority of federal courts 5 and state courts 6 have adopted Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion as providing the rule of decision. The ... Gaw, 285 S.W.3d 318, 32324 (Mo.2009); State v. Hughes, 272 S.W.3d 246, 253 (Mo.Ct.App.2008); Carter v. State, 309 S.W.3d 31, 38 (Tex.Crim.App.2010); ... ...
  • Vasquez v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • December 23, 2014
    ... ... State v. Hughes, 272 S.W.3d 246, 248, 254 (Mo.Ct.App.2008). During that 20minute conversation, officers asked the suspect various questions about his background, ... ...
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • Section 11.21 Waiver After Assertion of Right to Silence: The Problem of Multiple Interrogations
    • United States
    • The Missouri Bar Criminal Practice Deskbook Chapter 11 Statements of a Defendant
    • Invalid date
    ...establish a rapport and to gain the defendant’s trust before Mirandizing him to question him about his criminal conduct. State v. Hughes, 272 S.W.3d 246, 256–57 (Mo. App. W.D. 2008). Elstad was significantly affected by a later case that arose in Missouri. In Missouri v. Siebert, 542 U.S. 6......

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