| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Major part of Malvo confession can be used in trial, judge rules
From CNN's Jeanne Meserve
FAIRFAX, Virginia (CNN) -- The words of a teenage suspect in last year's sniper shootings may be used against him in his trial later this year, a judge ruled Tuesday. The decision by Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush allows most of an interrogation session last November that Virginia police had with Lee Boyd Malvo to be allowed into his trial, set to begin November 10. Authorities said Malvo confessed to two of the fatal shootings, including the October 14 killing of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia, that he is to be tried for first. During last year's interrogation, Malvo laughed and pointed to his head when describing the shooting of Franklin, police testified. "Having considered the totality of the circumstances surrounding the police interrogation of Malvo on November 7, I conclude that his statement was made voluntarily," Judge Roush wrote Tuesday in a 23-page letter to defense attorneys and the prosecutor in the case. Malvo, 18, is being held at the Fairfax County, Virginia, jail on a capital murder charge in the shooting of Franklin at a parking lot outside a Falls Church, Virginia, store. Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, 42, have been linked to 20 shootings, including 13 deaths, in Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and the Washington, D.C. area. Maryland lawyers did not represent Malvo, judge rulesMalvo was questioned November 7 after federal charges against him were dropped and he was transferred from Baltimore to Fairfax, Virginia, to face charges there for the sniper-style shooting of Franklin. Prosecutors said the transfer opened up a window of opportunity for police to interrogate Malvo, since he was no longer represented by defense attorneys in Baltimore and had not yet been appointed an attorney in Virginia. Defense attorneys argued that Malvo was still represented by his Maryland attorneys and had repeatedly invoked his constitutional right to be advised by counsel. Roush wrote in her letter Tuesday that Malvo did not face formal charges until November 8 -- the day after the interrogation -- when he made his first court appearance on the Virginia charges. "It was at this point that the government committed itself to prosecute," she wrote. "Therefore, Malvo's Sixth Amendment rights were not violated because adversarial judicial criminal proceedings had not yet been initiated against him." Roush said Maryland lawyers did not represent Malvo at the time of the interrogation because federal charges in Baltimore had been dropped. Even if Malvo had a right to counsel, Roush said, "I find that he knowingly and intentionally waived that right." Added the judge: "Police are not required to refrain from exploiting opportunities to interview suspects so long as in so doing they do not violate any of the suspect's constitutional rights," she wrote. Defense attorneys strongly disagreed with the ruling, saying Malvo's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were violated. "It is unfortunate that after careful consideration of the evidence and arguments presented, Judge Roush has reached a different conclusion," Malvo's attorneys said in a statement issued by the office of Matin, Arif, Petrovich & Walsh. "From our perspective, the actions taken by law enforcement with regard to Mr. Malvo's detention, transport to Virginia and interrogation were deliberate and designed to circumvent his constitutional rights." Fairfax County Prosecutor Robert Horan applauded Roush's decision. "She decided the police followed the rules," he said. Police recount interrogation
Up until November 7, Malvo had maintained "stony silence," according to prosecutors. During his arrest, and during several court hearings, he did not speak a word, declining to give even his name or age. Prosecutors said that changed when Malvo was transferred to Virginia and was questioned by homicide Detective June Boyle and FBI Special Agent Brad Garrett. During their first two hours with Malvo, Boyle and Garrett talked to the then-17-year-old, trying to gain his confidence -- discussing his background, vegetarian lifestyle, his life in Jamaica where he was born, his means of travel. They got him the two veggie burgers and water he wanted and removed his handcuffs. It was only after finishing his meal "and the small talk was finished, he got right down to discussing the killings," prosecutors said in court documents. At that point, Boyle testified, police began secretly tape-recording the conversation. Malvo's "demeanor was calm and relaxed," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "At times during the interview, Malvo laughed or smiled." Elsewhere, prosecutors write, Malvo was "rather boastful of his doings." One such time, police said, was when describing the shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, police say. "I asked him where he shot her. He laughed and pointed to his head. He was laughing, telling me it was really funny," Boyle testified at a hearing on the admissibility of the statement. Malvo also described shooting at a child skipping across a parking lot, described "leading" the child with his gun, but missing him -- barely. He said the child swatted about his head, mistaking the whiz of the bullet for a bee. "I might have parted his hair," Malvo is alleged to have said. According to court documents, Malvo laughed about shooting James Sunny Buchanan, saying that after Buchanan fell, the lawnmower he was using kept rolling down the street. He said his co-defendant, Muhammad, acted as his spotter and helper; they were equals, and either man "could call a particular shot on or off," the record said. Prosecutor Horan said Tuesday that during the interrogation, Malvo also spoke about three other shootings in the sniper spree. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
