United States v. Martinez
| Decision Date | 10 January 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. CRIM–10–074 (JFB).,CRIM–10–074 (JFB). |
| Citation | 916 F.Supp.2d 334 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Heriberto MARTINEZ, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney, Eastern District of New York, Central Islip, NY, by John J. Durham, Raymond Tierney, Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
Elizabeth E. Macedonio, Esq., Bayside, NY, for Defendant.
This is a suppression hearing. The attorney for the defendant Heriberto Martinez (the “defendant” or “Martinez”) moved to suppress the statements made by the defendant to law enforcement officers in four separate jurisdictions. The statements were made in separate interrogations by (1) the New York City Police Department—two sets of statements; (2) the Nassau County Police Department; (3) the Suffolk County Police Department; and (4) the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
For the reasons set forth below, the motions to suppress the statements made by Heriberto Martinez to the four law enforcement agencies are all denied. However, the Government has agreed to restrict its use with regard to a portion of the statement obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Detective Benjamin Cintron of the New York City Police Department is with Brooklyn North Night Watch and responds to major cases in late hours. He has spoken Spanish since his youth. His parents are Spanish and he was raised reading, writing and speaking Spanish. As a police officer he has conducted interviews and taken statements in Spanish “close to maybe a hundred” times. (Tr. at 9) *.
On March 17, 2010, at approximately 7:20 am, Detective Cintron came in contact with the defendant. In Spanish, he introduced himself to the defendant and advised him of his rights. The defendant acknowledged that he understood his rights by initialing the rights form. A copy of the Miranda warning and rights card with regard to the rights given to the defendant by Detective Cintron in Spanish is in evidence as Government Exhibit 4. The Miranda warning card contains the date, the detective's name and is signed by both the detective and the defendant.
Detective Cintron read each right “out loud” to the defendant. Next to each right is the word “si” and the defendant's initials. These rights read to the defendant in Spanish and signed off by him included, “the right to remain silent and not answer any questions.” The second right read to the defendant was question two, namely, “Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.” Again, the defendant wrote in “si”. Then the Detective read right number three, namely, Again, the defendant wrote “si” and placed his initials next to the question. The fourth right was then read to the defendant, namely, And again the defendant indicated he did understand, and wrote “si” and his initials next to the fourth advice right.
Then Detective Cintron read the defendant the final advice of rights in Spanish, namely, “Now that I have advised you of your rights, do you want to answer any questions, yes or no.” The defendant responded, “okay”, wrote “si” and his initials next to that final right recitation. Then the defendant signed the bottom of the Advice of Rights card with his full signature. The Detective also signed the bottom of the Advice of Rights card and dated the card.
After Detective Cintron advised the defendant of all of his rights in Spanish, and the defendant initialed and signed the “Advice of Rights” card, the detective conducted an interview of the defendant in a room in the 101 Precinct. Detective Cintron asked the defendant about what he knew about a homicide at the beach in the 101 Precinct. Detective Cintron asked the defendant if he would provide a Witness Statement with regard to that homicide and the defendant agreed to do so. Detective Cintron then obtained a legal notepad and a pen and gave it to the defendant and asked him to write out his statement as to the homicide. The defendant then wrote a statement in Spanish, and signed and dated the statement, which was admitted in evidence as Government Exhibit 5. This statement was in the defendant's own handwriting. The statement is dated March 17, 2010 at 9:30 am. Detective Cintron translated the Martinez statement into English, in evidence as Government Exhibit 5A.
Detective Cintron also testified that during his conversation with the defendant he was not handcuffed; he did not appear overly drowsy; he did not appear impaired by alcohol or drugs; and he did not appear to have any difficulty understanding the detective. Also, Detective Cintron testified that he did not threaten or physically assault the defendant. Also, of importance, Detective Cintron testified that at no time while he was with the defendant did he ask to speak to an attorney.
On cross-examination, it was brought out that the detective's parents also spoke English at home, even though he speaks Spanish regularly, both at home and at work. Also, Detective Cintron is not a registered Spanish interpreter. Detective Cintron arrived at the 101 Precinct at 4:20 am; first saw the defendant at 7:20 am; and finished the interview at 9:30 am. He was told that there was a homicide, someone had been cut and that there was a vehicle involved. Detective Villani signed the defendant's statement as a witness. However, in the interview, he was alone with the defendant. In his statement the defendant said that he got off work at 9:00 pm and was drinking beer that night.
Oscar Ferrufino is a corporate security officer for the Consolidated Edison Company. He formerly was a Detective/Sergeant in the New York City Police Department, Queens County Homicide Squad. Ferrufino speaks English and Spanish. He was born in Bolivia, South America, and his primary language is Spanish. He took classes in high school and college in Spanish. In his career in the New York City Police Department he interviewed victims, witnesses and defendants in Spanish and he advised defendants of their Miranda rights in Spanish.
On March 17, 2010, he was involved in investigating the murder of Mario Quijada. On that date, he was working a 0800 to 1600 tour. After he reported to his office in the Queens Homicide Office, he was instructed to respond to a murder crime scene in Far Rockaway, Queens. He was told that three individuals were taken into custody. He walked around the crime scene and was shown a hand gun, discovered on the beach, right off the boardwalk. After several hours at the crime scene, he went to the 101 Precinct, arriving at about 12 noon. At the 101 Precinct, he spoke to several other detectives including the murder case officer—Detective Timothy Villani. The three individuals who were taken into custody were being held separately at the precinct. They were Daniel Marroquin, Roger Alvarado and the defendant Heriberto Martinez.
The defendant, who was identified in Court by Ferrufino, was being held in the juvenile room, separated from the two other persons being held. Ferrufino then interviewed Marroquin orally and then got a written statement from him. At approximately 5:00 pm he then went into the juvenile room to speak to the defendant. Having spoken to Detective Benjamin Cintron he knew that he had been advised of his Miranda rights. Also, Detective Cintron showed the defendant a copy of the Miranda warnings given him. He saw the Miranda warnings written in Spanish and signed by the defendant. (Government Exhibit 4 in evidence). Ferrufino went in to interview the defendant accompanied by Dave Moser, another detective from the Queens Homicide Office. Asked to describe the defendant's demeanor, he testified that he was “very calm, relaxed, normal, unemotional....” (Tr. at 216). The defendant did not appear to be tired or sleepy. Ferrufino did not smell alcohol or marijuana on his breath; nor did he have bloodshot eyes. The defendant did not seem to be intoxicated.
Of importance, when asked to explain how he began his interview with the defendant, there was the following testimony:
Q. Could you explain to the Court, you entered the room and how you began the interview with the defendant?
A. I introduced myself, as I always do. I advised him that his warnings were still in effect and told him what we were there to talk about.
Q. You said you advised him that his warnings were still in effect.
Could you explain to the Court exactly what you said to the defendant?
A. I basically reminded him that—I basically—I asked him, do you remember signing these papers? It's still in effect. We're here to talk to you just like the other detectives spoke to you about the incident that occurred the night before.
Q. And when you say signing these papers, were you referring to Government's Exhibit 4, the Miranda waiver form?
A. Correct.
(Tr. at 217).
Ferrufino then asked the defendant about the Quijada murder and went through an oral interview. He questioned the defendant in Spanish regarding the murder. The defendant made certain admissions. Then Ferrufino requested that the defendant himself write exactly what he had just told him, “in a written form in his own writing.” The defendant would then write a paragraph and Ferrufino would stop him and orally read the paragraph to make sure it wasn't changed in any way. Then Ferrufino wrote out some questions in Spanish and the defendant wrote the answers in his own writing. The defendant signed each page at the bottom of the written statement. Then Ferrufino and Detective Moser also signed that statement, so that there were three signatures on each page....
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...or abandonment' of [the suspect's] rights.” Wyrick v. Fields, 459 U.S. 42, 47 (1982); see also United States v. Martinez, 916 F.Supp.2d 334, 351 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (recognizing Fields as the controlling authority “on the issue at hand: namely, whether a first and only Miranda warning would be ......