State v. Edrozo

Page 719

578 N.W.2d 719

STATE of Minnesota, Appellant, v. Aron Nahum EDROZO, Respondent.

No. C4-96-2591.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

May 14, 1998.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Surreptitious tape recording of statements made by a suspect to a companion,

while both are seated in the rear seat of a marked police car, is not the "functional equivalent" of custodial interrogation and does not violate the suspect's right against compelled self-incrimination.

2. Voluntary and unsolicited statements made to a police officer away from a place of detention are not "custodial interrogation" subject to the recording requirements of State v. Scales, 518 N.W.2d 587 (Minn.1994).

Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Minnesota Attorney General, Richard M. Arney, Washington County Attorney by Michael C. Hutchinson, Assistant County Attorney, Stillwater, for appellant.

Michael H. Daub, Minneapolis, for respondent.

Paul R. Scoggin, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney, Mary M. Lynch, Staff Attorney, Minneapolis, for amicus curiae Minnesota County Attorney's Association.

Heard, considered and decided by the court en banc.

OPINION

GARDEBRING, Justice.

This pretrial appeal requires us to determine whether incriminating statements, which were made by a suspect to a companion while both were seated in the rear seat of a marked police car and which were secretly tape recorded, are admissible in a criminal trial for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. In addition, we are asked to determine whether unrecorded voluntary statements made by the suspect away from a place of detention are admissible. Because we hold that the lower court decisions suppressing the statements were clearly erroneous, we reverse.

On the evening of July 25, 1996, two officers of the Stillwater Police Department responded to a call from a Stillwater health care facility, reporting vehicles drag racing in the area of Third Street and Linden Street. Officer Bradley Allen drove to the area and was met by a group of five young men, who reported that their vehicle had been struck from behind by a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, driven by the appellant, Aron Edrozo. The five men complained that Edrozo was armed and had threatened them and that he had driven onto the curb and sidewalk numerous times, attempting to run them over with his vehicle. The officer observed minor damage to the rear end of the alleged victims' vehicle. While Officer Allen was interviewing the young men, they reported seeing the S-10 Blazer driving eastbound about one block away. The officer radioed for backup and pursued and stopped the vehicle.

The officer found several young men in the vehicle, including Edrozo, who was a passenger at the time of the stop. Pointing his shotgun at the vehicle, the officer ordered all the occupants to raise their hands and ordered the driver out of the vehicle and onto the ground. He then placed handcuffs on the driver and placed him in the rear of his squad car. When additional police officers arrived on the scene, the other passengers were removed from the vehicle. Two of the victims were brought to the scene and identified Edrozo as the driver who tried to run them down. They also told the officer that the site of the stop was the actual location of the rear-end collision. The investigating officer inspected the scene and found physical evidence of a collision: a piece of white plastic lens and parts of a license plate frame, which matched damage to the vehicles.

During this investigation, Edrozo was placed in the back seat of Officer Allen's marked police car. Along with Benjamin Easton, ¹ a companion from the S-10 Blazer, Edrozo was subsequently transferred to the back seat of a second squad car, which had been driven to the scene by Officer C.T. Felsch. Officer Felsch's squad car contained a hidden tape recorder, which he activated after placing the suspects in his vehicle. Officer Felsch initially questioned Edrozo about the evening's events and was told by Edrozo that he had been driving his car when the complainants started chasing him in their vehicle. Officer Felsch then left the squad car, leaving Edrozo and his companion alone. The hidden tape recorder secretly logged the conversation between Edrozo and his companion, which included threats against the alleged victims and a statement that the police would not find any evidence that the Blazer had been involved in a collision. ² At this time neither Easton nor Edrozo had been formally arrested or read his Miranda rights.

At some point later in the investigation, Officer Allen entered the squad car and read Edrozo his rights. Edrozo agreed to discuss the incident and denied any wrongdoing, telling the officer that he was being "set up." Edrozo was taken to the Stillwater police station, where he was charged with five counts of second-degree assault in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.222 (1996), one count of leaving the scene of an accident in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169.09, subd. 2 (1996), and one count of minor consumption of alcohol in violation of Minn.Stat. § 340A.503, subd. 1 (1996). At the station, Edrozo refused to speak outside of the presence of counsel and the interview was terminated. Edrozo was released on bond pending appearance.

Four days later, on July 29, 1996, Edrozo and his mother went to the Stillwater police station to retrieve some personal belongings from the S-10 Blazer, which was being held at the Stillwater impound lot. Investigator Davin Miller of the Stillwater police department accompanied the pair to the impound lot, which was a short distance away from the police station. While at the impound lot, Edrozo began to question Miller about the investigation. Since Edrozo had previously invoked his right to counsel, Miller did not question him, but reminded Edrozo that he could not talk to him about the case. Despite this, Edrozo made numerous unsolicited and voluntary statements including, inter alia, that Edrozo had accidentally rear-ended the other vehicle involved, that he had left the scene of the accident because he was frightened, and that he had intentionally tried to run over two (not five) of the victims after they brandished a weapon at him. The statements were not recorded, and Miller did not repeat the Miranda warning at that time.

At the omnibus hearing, Edrozo moved to suppress both the secretly recorded conversation in the police car and the July 29 statements made to Investigator Miller. The trial court suppressed the tape of the secretly recorded conversation on the grounds that it was unfairly obtained and violated Edrozo's right not to incriminate himself. In particular, the trial court concluded that the sole motive for the transfer of Edrozo and Easton to the second patrol car was to obtain incriminating statements without providing Edrozo with a Miranda warning. The court also suppressed the July 29 statements, citing "all the facts and circumstances, and the Scales decision." ³ The court of appeals affirmed the trial court order, concluding that the tape recorded conversation should be excluded under Miranda, and that the state had failed to show that the suppression of the statements made at the impound lot would have a critical impact on the prosecution of the defendant. We reverse.

I. Critical impact

In a pretrial appeal of an order suppressing evidence in a criminal case, we will reverse the determination of the trial court only "if the state demonstrates clearly and unequivocally that the trial court has erred in its judgment and that, unless reversed, the error will have a critical impact on the outcome of the trial." State v. Webber, 262 N.W.2d 157, 159 (Minn.1977). With respect to Edrozo's July 29 statements, the court of appeals held that the state had not met the burden of showing critical impact, and declined to reach the merits of the issue. ⁴ State v. Edrozo, 567 N.W.2d 59, 62 (Minn.App.1997). We must, therefore, begin by discussing this threshold issue.

Whether suppression of a particular piece of evidence will have a critical impact depends on the nature of the state's evidence against the defendant. State v. Zanter, 535 N.W.2d 624, 630 (Minn.1995). It is "necessarily a demanding standard." Id. Nevertheless, the critical impact rule does not require that the suppression order render the available proof insufficient as a matter of law, or so weak as to effectively destroy a successful prosecution. ⁵ State v. Joon Kyu Kim, 398 N.W.2d 544, 550-51 (Minn.1987). As this court has clarified in prior cases, the standard for critical impact is that "the lack of the suppressed evidence significantly reduces the likelihood of a successful prosecution." Id. at 551.

In the present case, the state has five eyewitnesses who allege that Edrozo attempted to run them down, photographs of a single tire mark on the grass and curb at the location of the attempt, and physical evidence of a collision, gathered at the scene of the hit-and-run. The defendant's statement at the impound lot, however, allegedly includes an admission that he intentionally tried to hit two of the victims as they stood on the sidewalk.

Assault is a specific intent crime. The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant either (1) acted with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or death; or (2) intentionally inflicted or attempted to inflict bodily harm on another. Minn.Stat. § 609.02, subd. 10 (1996); State v. Cole, 542 N.W.2d 43, 51 (Minn.1996). The defendant's own words are directly relevant and highly probative of his state of mind on July 25, 1996. Even if the state's case is as strong as the court of appeals believes, it is clear that the defendant's confession is important to the state's burden of proving defendant's state of mind. We believe that suppression of the July 29 statements would significantly reduce the likelihood of a successful prosecution, and therefore we hold that the state has shown that the court's order will...