State v. Annis

178 A.3d 467

STATE of Maine

v.Douglas ANNIS

Docket: Pen–17–222

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued: December 14, 2017

Decided: January 25, 2018

Revised: February 1, 2018

Jamesa J. Drake, Esq. (orally), Drake Law, LLC, Auburn, for appellant Douglas Annis

R. Christopher Almy, District Attorney, and Mark A. Rucci, Esq., Asst. Dist. Atty. (orally), Prosecutorial District V, Bangor, for appellee State of Maine

Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and ALEXANDER, MEAD, GORMAN, JABAR, HJELM, and HUMPHREY, JJ.

MEAD, J.

[¶ 1] Douglas Annis appeals from a judgment of conviction for possession of sexually explicit materials depicting a minor under twelve years old (Class C), 17–A M.R.S. § 284(1)(C) (2017), entered following his conditional guilty plea. He challenges the order of the motion court (Penobscot County, Campbell, J. ) denying his motion to suppress his statements to the police. Annis also directly appeals the condition of his probation that permits him only supervised contact with his infant son; he argues this condition is illegal and violates his rights as a parent. We conclude, based on the court's findings that are supported by the record, that Annis's confession was the product of a free choice of his rational mind, was not caused by the investigator's vague and generalized remark that Annis claims was an improper inducement, and that given the totality of the circumstances, its admission was fundamentally fair. Furthermore, the "no unsupervised contact" provision of Annis's probation was well within the authority of the court pursuant to 17–A M.R.S. § 1204(2–A) (2017) and did not violate his constitutional rights. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶ 2] During the week of July 20, 2014, Annis lost his cell phone while he and his family were at their camp in Township 33. Annis's cell phone was found by an acquaintance who discovered that the phone contained pornographic images depicting children and reported this fact to the police. On August 6, 2014, six local law enforcement officers, in marked and unmarked vehicles, from the Hampden Police Department and the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the Annis residence for "computers and electronic devices" potentially storing child pornography. The police arrived at approximately 6:00 p.m. as Annis and his parents, with whom he lives, were sitting down for dinner; the family cooperated fully with the search. Annis was twenty-two years old at the time.

[¶ 3] Two investigators asked to speak with Annis, who was the target of the investigation, outside the residence in an unmarked police cruiser parked in the home's driveway. Annis agreed, and engaged in an interview with one and sometimes both of the investigators for approximately an hour and seven minutes. Their conversation was recorded and entered into evidence at the hearing on the motion to suppress. The court found the following facts concerning the investigators' conversation with Annis.

[¶ 4] The lead investigator sat in the driver's seat, next to Annis who was seated in the front passenger seat. The assisting investigator occupied the back seat, directly behind Annis. At the outset and at two other occasions during the interview, Annis asked whether he was under arrest and an investigator repeatedly assured him that he was not. Although no Miranda warnings were read, the lead investigator explained to Annis that he could end the interview at any point and that he did not have to speak with them. Annis, paraphrasing the investigator's explanations, stated his understanding that "I can stop talking at any point." Annis was never restrained in any way during the interview and the doors of the cruiser were unlocked. The investigators and Annis also left the car for a smoke break. The court concluded that the interview was non-custodial in nature as it was, overall, a non-threatening, low-key, and cordial exchange.

[¶ 5] From the beginning of the interview, Annis freely acknowledged that he knew that the investigators were speaking to him because someone had found his cell phone and reported to the police that it contained pornographic images of children. Annis informed the investigators that the witness had attempted to extort money from him and his parents in exchange for the witness's silence and agreement not to turn the phone over to the police. Annis further volunteered that his heart was pounding due to his nicotine addiction and that he had "ADHD really bad." At approximately seventeen minutes into the interview, after some inconsequential conversation about how Annis and the lead investigator knew each other from having spoken to one another around town, the investigator told Annis that the police knew that Annis put the child pornography onto his phone. Although Annis's responses were vague and equivocal, he did not deny or refute the statement, instead claiming that he did not remember downloading the content onto his phone.

[¶ 6] Approximately twenty minutes into the interview, the lead investigator turned the focus of his questions to addressing child pornography as an addiction:

[Investigator:] ... Just saying that no it didn't happen—people are going to think ... that this guy is not willing to take responsibility for his addiction. So, what is he going to do? First thing we want is for people to take responsibility and say that "Yes, I have a problem."

[Annis:] I can honestly say that I have seen it before because it has been sent to me before and I have deleted it, instantly.

[Investigator:] Ok.

[Annis:] I open the message up and see what it is and then I delete it.

....

[Investigator:] Well, people are sending you this stuff and we also know that stuff was sent from you .... Has that happened before?

....

[Annis:] Yes, when I was a lot younger. I used to have a problem when I was a lot younger.

[Investigator:] Sure. And sometimes it doesn't go away without help. Sometimes, we all need help .... I can tell you that I have needed help with stuff that I couldn't deal with on my own.

[Annis:] I don't want this to follow me around for my whole life and screw me.

[Investigator:] You know, all I can tell you is that it is going to be one hundred times worse if, you know, all you hear is denial, and people look at this and say that this person is not willing to take responsibility, he is a danger.

[Annis:] But I have just told you that I have had problems in the past. I just don't need this following me around for the rest of my life.

[Investigator:] I understand that but we are already here at this point. Now we have to look at getting beyond this.

[Annis:] Is it going to follow me for the rest of my life?

[Investigator:] I can't answer that, we are already here, we have got your phone, we have dates, we have chat stuff, we know pictures have been sent. [W]e already know all this .... And what is going to come out of this is going to come out of this .... Would you be willing to see somebody to get help for it?

[Annis:] I would be willing to talk to somebody.

....

[Investigator:] Ok, when was the last time that you did it?

[Annis:] I honestly—I am trying to tell you the truth here—I honestly do not remember.

(Repeated "you knows" omitted.)

[¶ 7] Annis then reaffirmed that his problem was entirely in his past and he speculated that he could have downloaded the content while he was in "a drunken stupor," but assured the investigator that he "would never hurt a child." Annis subsequently asked if he was under arrest, and the investigator again told him no, he was not.

[¶ 8] Approximately halfway into the interview, Annis's father approached the car where the interview was taking place to check on his son and to let the investigators know that Annis had a mental illness. Both the investigator and Annis assured the father that Annis was fine and, at this point, Annis informed the investigators that he had a mental illness and heart problems. After another ten minutes of questions, Annis expressed his desire to take a smoke break. He and the investigators walked to the end of the driveway where Annis smoked a cigar and spoke about matters unrelated to the investigation before returning to the car.

[¶ 9] During the remainder of the interview, Annis continued to vehemently deny having perpetrated any acts of child sexual abuse. However, he made further incriminating statements regarding his possession of child pornography. He acknowledged that he was responsible for all the images on his phone, had developed an interest in child pornography, downloaded the materials in his bedroom when his parents were not around, and expressed uncertainty about whether his computer contained more images. At the end of the interview, the investigator thanked Annis and Annis returned home.

[¶ 10] On January 27, 2016, a grand jury indictment charged Annis with possession of sexually explicit materials depicting a minor under twelve years of age, 17–A M.R.S. § 284(1)(C). Annis entered a plea of not guilty and later filed a motion to suppress all his statements after the investigator's "one hundred times worse" remark on the grounds that these statements were involuntary and induced by an improper promise of leniency. Following a hearing, the court denied the motion, finding that the investigator's "one hundred times worse" remark "did not rise to the level of a promise of leniency or a threat that caused the Defendant's will to be overborne." The court acknowledged that Annis and his father claimed that he had a mental illness but ultimately found that "[t]here was no evidence ... that if the Defendant did in fact have any mental health issues, they played any role in the Defendant speaking with the officers."

[¶ 11] On April 7, 2017, Annis tendered a conditional guilty plea pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 11(a)(2), and the court entered a judgment of conviction accordingly. At sentencing, the court heard testimony from Annis's psychiatrists as to his diagnoses and the limiting effects that his autism, major depressive disorder, ADHD, and anxiety had on...