United States v. Mata

1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. RAUL TOMAS MATA, Defendant.

No. 1:22-CR-10026-CBK

United States District Court, D. South Dakota, Northern Division

November 29, 2022

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FOR DISPOSITION OF MOTION TO SUPPRESS

MARK A. MORENO, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

In this assault and firearm discharge case, Raul Tomas Mata (Mata) moves to suppress all statements he made in three interviews relating to a house shooting investigation. All three of them sidestepped Miranda. Mata though only made incriminating statements in the third one. Because those statements should be excluded as substantive - but not impeachment - evidence, Mata's suppression motion should be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Just after 1:00 a.m. on April 29, 2022, 911 received reports of shots fired into a residence in Little Eagle, S.D. that struck a female child. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and spoke with witnesses, leading them to believe it was a drive-by shooting involving an Impala. At about 2:20 a.m., Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Agent Dustin Dobbs (Dobbs) and another officer located and stopped an Impala matching the description and detained the two occupants for questioning. Mata arrived at the scene of the traffic stop, within the hour, apparently to check on his friends who were in the car. Officers immediately handcuffed him.

A. First Interview

A couple of hours afterward, Dobbs and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Joel Smith (Smith) interviewed Mata in Dobbs's vehicle. Dobbs advised Mata of his Miranda rights. Mata waived them, spoke to agents for about 20-minutes, then invoked his right to remain silent:

Smith: .... And how long are you there for?

Mata: For a while. I don't even know to be honest.

Smith: Okay. Best guess.

Mata: Well, I don't know. I kind of feel uncomfortable answering.

Smith: Okay.

Mata: I'd like to remain silent.

Smith: Okay.

Dobbs: I think I'm going to - - okay.

Smith: That's - - that's your right. Just on that question then, can we ask you about other questions?

Mata: Uh just in general.

Smith: Okay. So you - - you want to be silent then.

Mata: Yeah.

Smith: Okay. All right.

Dobbs: Is that it?

Smith: Yeah.

Dobbs: Okay. The time is 5:30 p.m. - - or 5:30 a.m.^[1]

B. Second Interview

Agents subsequently arrested Mata and transported him to the adult correctional facility in Fort Yates, North Dakota. Dobbs secured a search warrant for Mata's DNA, and interviewed Mata a second time at about 6:25 p.m. that same day with Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Agent Sparky Edwards (Edwards) present. After Dobbs read the Miranda warning, Mata invoked his right to remain silent, but agents pushed on:

Dobbs: So having those rights in mind, will you talk to us about this incident?

Mata: Um I would just like to remain quiet, sir.

Edwards: You want to stay quiet? I mean, is it okay if we talk to you about some things?

Mata: Um what is it about?^[2]

Leveraging their mutual experience in military service, Edwards then pontificated about the need to locate the gun in hopes of engaging Mata:

Edwards: .... Are you at least willing to help us get that [gun] so we can put it away where nobody is going to get hurt?

Mata: (unintelligible), sir.

Edwards: What's that?

Mata: Um I would just like to remain quiet, sir.

Edwards: Okay. Okay. Like I said, we'll - - we'll respect whatever you want to do. My - - again, just my hope was that you would know that you don't want that [gun] out there. So if you - - if you change your mind and want - - want to do that before something bad happens, just tell us. I can see it weighing on you.

Mata: I'd just like to remain quiet, sir.^[3]

Edwards and Dobbs persisted for about four more minutes in an attempt to get Mata to cooperate and “help [him]self out.”^[4] Edwards, in particular, talked about coming in to assist a fellow soldier and “brother of mine” and the benefits of cooperating (“especially from somebody in the Armed Forces.”).^[5] While Dobbs collected the buccal swab, he and Edwards sought to keep the conversation going:

Edwards: ....Like I said, you got to know a staff sergeant cares about their Joes. So again, I do, but I can only help you if you want to help yourself.

Mata: Yes, sir.

Edwards: Okay.

Dobbs: Do you have any questions for us?

Mata: Um when - -

Edwards: You can ask anything.

Mata: When um court I guess.

Dobbs: On Monday.

Mata: Monday?

Edwards: Yeah.... I got to ask before I - - before we end all this, because I've got to make sure that I did what I could when I leave here - - because I've got to go home and sleep too - - is that gun going to get in a kid's hands? Is it possible? Just tell me at least that. I mean, if it's somewhere safe that you know it's not going to, then so be it, but is a kid going to get ahold of it?

Mata: I would just like to remain quiet, sir.

Edwards: Okay.^[6]

C. Third Interview

About two days later, on May 1, 2022, Dobbs interviewed Mata a third time. In this interview, Dobbs prefaced the Miranda warning with nine minutes worth of investigation details and references to an incident involving Braxton Little Dog. Dobbs also alluded to Mata's family possibly being in danger:

Dobbs: .... Um but again, since you're in custody, before I ask you any questions, I have to advise you of your rights just because you're not free to leave.

Mata: Right.

Dobbs: You're in custody. Okay?

Mata: Right.

Dobbs: So I'm going to go over those with you right now. Again, read them just like I've been doing. Um.

Mata: Is my family okay though?

Dobbs: Right now, yes. Right now they are....^[7]

From there, Dobbs mentioned talking to Mata's uncle about retaliation and trying to smooth things over with the family before giving the Miranda advisement:

Dobbs: .... Having those rights in mind, will you talk with me about, you know - - if there's anything you don't want to answer, you can just tell me, “Hey, Dobbs, I don't want to answer that.”

Mata: Okay.

Dobbs: But I want to - - I want to go back to some of the other stuff.

Mata: Okay.

Dobbs: Okay? Are you okay answering questions about that?

Mata: Um a few things I'm okay, but it's just, like, Braxton's playing with my life right now.

Dobbs: Okay.

Mata: Like - -

Dobbs: Um and we can get into that. Okay? But, first, I - - I want to make sure that you understand that - - you understand the rights I just read to you.

Mata: Okay.

Dobbs: Do you understand those?

Mata: Yeah.

Dobbs: Okay. And I'll talk to - - with you about the Braxton stuff.

Mata: Okay.

Dobbs: Um for sure. Do you - - will you speak with me about this?

Mata: Um I respect you, but I just want to remain quiet.

Dobbs: You want to remain quiet? Okay.

Mata: Yes, sir.

Dobbs: Can I ask you question - - or you don't have to answer me - -

Mata: Yes, sir.

Dobbs: - - answer every question that I ask.

Mata: Yes, sir.

Dobbs: Um but can I ask you just a couple - - or some questions? And, you know, if you feel that you want to answer them, answer them. If you don't say, “Hey, Dobbs, I don't want to answer them.”

Mata: Yes, sir.

Dobbs: Is that okay with you?

Mata: I'm okay with that.^[8]

The interview proceeded for 35 more minutes and focused primarily on Little Dog. Eventually, Dobbs asked where the gun was:

Dobbs: . . . Will you tell me where it's at?

Mata: Um with that I would just like to remain quiet on that one, sir.

Dobbs: Okay. Um let me see where else I can go....^[9]

After this point, Dobbs described the sweeping nature of a criminal conspiracy and how it puts others at risk and, while doing so, circled back to the peril Mata and his family faced.^[10] Although Dobbs paused his questioning, he returned to it with another gun query:

Dobbs: .... But, again, the only thing I can keep going back to is that firearm because that is going to be what the higher powers are going to want. Okay? So I'm going to ask again: You know, can you please tell me where that gun is?

Mata: Mm I would just like to remain quiet because I feel like - - -

Dobbs: What do you feel like?

Mata: Being accused.

Dobbs: Okay.

Mata: I would just like to remain quiet now.

Dobbs: Okay. Yeah. I don't have any other questions, man. Do you have any questions for me?

Mata: No, sir.

Dobbs: No? Okay. Um yeah, I think that's - - that's about it. Do you have - - do you have a girlfriend or anything?^[11]

Then, Dobbs wended ahead and asked a bunch more questions, obtaining further information from Mata, before finally ending the interview:

Dobbs: ....Well, anything else?

Mata: No, sir.

Dobbs: No? Anything I didn't ask that you think I should know before we stop? Anything.

Mata: No, sir.

Dobbs: No? Okay. We can conclude the interview.^[12]

A federal grand jury ultimately indicted Mata and charged him with assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.^[13] Mata thereafter moved to suppress the statements he made during the three interviews and the Court held an evidentiary hearing on the motion. During the hearing, Mata conceded that only the third interview contained incriminating statements and that it alone was the one subject to suppression.^[14] The government resisted the motion.^[15]The Court then took the matter under advisement.^[16]

DISCUSSION

A. Invocation

Mata first claims that the statements he made to Dobbs should be suppressed because he invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The recording of the third interview shows that after being Mirandized, Mata said he wanted to “remain quiet.” Mata argues that these utterances were sufficient as a matter of law to trigger his right to silence and cut off any questioning of him.

Miranda requires that law enforcement...