State v. Vincenty
| Decision Date | 11 March 2019 |
| Docket Number | 079978,A-40 September Term 2017 |
| Citation | 202 A.3d 1273,237 N.J. 122 |
| Parties | STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Adrian A. VINCENTY, a/k/a Adrian A. Vicente and Adrian A. Vicenty, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | New Jersey Supreme Court |
Stephen W. Kirsch, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant (Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney; Stephen W. Kirsch, of counsel and on the briefs).
Frank Muroski, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent (Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney; Frank Muroski, of counsel and on the brief, and Erica Bertuzzi, Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor, on the brief).
In State v. A.G.D., this Court held that "[t]he government's failure to inform a suspect that a criminal complaint or arrest warrant has been filed or issued deprives that person of information indispensable to a knowing and intelligent waiver of rights." 178 N.J. 56, 68, 835 A.2d 291 (2003). Defendant Adrian Vincenty argues that two detectives failed to inform him of the criminal charges filed against him when they interrogated him and asked him to waive his right against self-incrimination. Relying on A.G.D., Vincenty filed a motion to suppress statements he made to the detectives.
The trial court denied his motion in part and granted it in part. The trial court held that the detectives did not violate A.G.D., but the court suppressed the statements Vincenty made to the detectives after he invoked his right to counsel. Vincenty pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment with an eighty-five percent parole disqualifier. Vincenty appealed the denial of his motion to suppress.
The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's denial of Vincenty's motion to suppress. According to the Appellate Division, the record showed that Vincenty was informed of the charges pending against him before he waived his right against self-incrimination. Thus, the Appellate Division held, the detectives did not contravene A.G.D.
We disagree. The record reveals that the detectives failed to inform Vincenty of the charges filed against him when they read him his rights and asked him to waive his right against self-incrimination. That failure deprived Vincenty of the ability to knowingly and intelligently waive his right against self-incrimination. Pursuant to A.G.D., Vincenty's motion to suppress should have been granted. We thus reverse the Appellate Division's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Adrian Vincenty was incarcerated at the Garden State Correctional Facility when Detectives Thomas Glackin and Brian Mera visited him to question him about the attempted robbery and attempted murder of Jerry Castellano. Castellano was attacked on March 20, 2011 in Weehawken. Video surveillance of the attack showed two men approach Castellano. The assailants attempted to rob Castellano but were unable to execute the robbery. One of the assailants shot Castellano in the back of the head. One of the assailants wore a mask and dropped or threw it away after the attack. Castellano ultimately survived the attack.
Police officers recovered the mask on the night in question. The mask was tested for DNA -- and Vincenty's DNA was found on it. The detectives also identified Vincenty from the video recording of the attack. The detectives sought to question Vincenty to identify the second assailant on the video recording.
Detective Glackin asked Detective Mera to accompany him to question Vincenty because Vincenty speaks only Spanish and Mera is fluent in Spanish. The detectives recorded the interview. Detective Mera spoke with Vincenty in Spanish.
Detective Mera read Vincenty his Miranda 1 rights -- and Vincenty was given and read a form detailing his rights. The form was written in both English and Spanish. At the bottom of the form, it read: "I acknowledge that I have been advised of the constitutional rights as stated above." Underneath this acknowledgment, Vincenty signed the form.
Detective Mera explained that the police identified Vincenty from the video recording of the attack and sought his assistance to identify the second assailant on the video recording. Detective Mera told Vincenty that "the judge already charged [him]." Detective Mera explained that they obtained Vincenty's DNA from the mask recovered at the scene of the attack. Detective Mera then explained "how DNA works" -- that each individual has distinct DNA -- and informed Vincenty that because Vincenty's DNA was discovered at the scene, the detectives "have the charges."
Vincenty indicated that he was confused and denied any involvement in the attack. Shortly thereafter, the following exchange occurred:
Vincenty nonetheless continued to deny any involvement in the robbery. Detective Mera then told Vincenty that they "presented the evidence to the judge," who "put the charges in." Vincenty still indicated that he was "surprise[d] that [the detectives] ha[d] ... evidence against [him]." Vincenty was then asked whether he knew the second man in the video:
The detectives showed Vincenty a picture of the assailants. Vincenty told the detectives one of the assailants "looks like [him]" and that he has a coat similar to one worn by one of the assailants. Detective Mera explained that they had shown a judge all of the evidence because in order for them to speak with Vincenty, "[they] needed the charges." The detectives again attempted to elicit information about the other assailant:
A few moments later, Detective Mera mentioned that they had charges against Vincenty. Vincenty then stated that he did not get a letter from a judge about the charges and asked the detectives what the charges were. The officers showed Vincenty a list of the charges and explained to Vincenty that he had been charged with attempted homicide, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery.
The detectives then asked Vincenty additional questions, attempting to elicit further information about the attack. Vincenty denied any involvement in the robbery but did tell the detectives he lived near the scene of the crime and "went to the store to buy cigarettes." Shortly thereafter, Vincenty told the detectives he wanted to talk to a lawyer and expressed concern that there were charges pending against him.
The detectives continued questioning Vincenty. After the detectives again showed Vincenty a list of the charges against him and continued to ask him to provide information about the attack, Vincenty again asked to speak with a lawyer and indicated that he was both surprised and confused. "I need to see a lawyer," Vincenty explained, "because I am confused right now." The detectives then acknowledged Vincenty's desire to speak with a lawyer and stopped questioning him.
A grand jury indicted Vincenty for first-degree attempted murder, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3 ; first-degree armed robbery, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1 ; second-degree conspiracy to commit armed robbery, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 and N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1 ; second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(a) ; and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b). Vincenty filed a motion to suppress the statements he made to Detectives Glackin and Mera. Vincenty argued his statements should be suppressed because, in his view, the detectives failed to comply with A.G.D. and failed to cease questioning him when he first asked to speak with a lawyer.
The trial court conducted a hearing where both Vincenty and Detective Mera testified. Vincenty testified that he told the detectives he wanted to speak with a lawyer before they began recording the interview. Detective Mera, however, testified that Vincenty requested to speak with a lawyer at the end of the interrogation only. The State indicated that it would not seek to admit any statements Vincenty made to the detectives after he first requested to speak with a lawyer, as the State conceded that any statements made after that point should be suppressed.
The trial court found that Vincenty's reliance on A.G.D. was "misplaced." In the trial court's view, Vincenty was informed of the charges pending against him "immediately after he signed the waiver and before he made any statements with reference to the incident." The trial court found Detective Mera's testimony -- but not Vincenty's -- credible and found that Vincenty did not ask to speak with a lawyer before the detectives began recording the interview. Under the totality of the circumstances, the trial court found that, until Vincenty requested to speak with a lawyer, his statements were the result of a "knowing, voluntary and intelligent waiver of his Miranda rights." The trial court held that any statements Vincenty made after he first requested to speak with a lawyer would not be admissible during the State's case-in-chief.
Vincenty entered into a plea agreement with the State whereby he pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder and reserved his right to appeal the denial of his suppression motion. Under the agreement, the State recommended a sentence of ten years' imprisonment with an eighty-five percent parole disqualifier. The trial...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Diaz
...DEFENDANT'S STATEMENT WAS IN ERROR BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT WAS AT ALL TIMES INFORMED OF HIS "TRUE STATUS" IN ACCORD WITH STATE V. A.G.D., STATE V. VINCENTY, AND STATE V. SIMS. III. We begin our analysis by acknowledging certain foundational legal principles governing this appeal. When reviewi......
-
State v. Sims
...at 364, 246 A.3d 814 (citing State v. A.G.D., 178 N.J. 56, 58-59, 835 A.2d 291 (2003) ). The majority also invoked our decision in State v. Vincenty, in which we held that if charges have been filed against a suspect prior to his interrogation, law enforcement officers should provide him ......
-
State v. Burney
...law "maintains ‘an unyielding commitment to ensure the proper admissibility of confessions.’ " Id. at 24 (quoting State v. Vincenty, 237 N.J. 122, 132, 202 A.3d 1273 (2019) ). In Miranda, the United States Supreme Court "determined that a custodial interrogation by law enforcement officers ......
-
State v. Cotto
...‘an unyielding commitment to ensure the proper admissibility of confessions.’ " Id. at 211, 271 A.3d 288 (quoting State v. Vincenty, 237 N.J. 122, 132, 202 A.3d 1273 (2019) ). Accordingly, "[w]hen faced with a trial court's admission of police-obtained statements, an appellate court should ......