Defense Files Suppression Motion
WEST CHESTER — A former volunteer firefighter facing arson charges in connection with fires set in Sadsbury last summer wants a statement he made to the police thrown out because he said he was intoxicated at the time.
He also claimed at a suppression hearing Wednesday that state troopers questioning him that day improperly made promises to him.
Troopers testifying at the hearing said they did not make any promises to him and that while the suspect had been drinking he was not intoxicated.
The Defendant, a former Pomeroy Fire Company volunteer, was arrested Aug. 22, 2008, and charged with arson and related offenses.
On Wednesday, Defendant was in court with his attorney, Steve Jarmon, for a hearing on a motion to suppress his confession.
Trooper John J. Clifford, of the Pennsylvania State Police Embreeville Barracks, said Defendant was picked up Aug. 22 at a saloon in Sadsbury Township. Clifford said there was a smell of alcohol on him but he was not intoxicated. Defendant was taken to the Coatesville Police Department and given his Miranda rights, a statement that he has the right to remain silent and that anything he might say could be used against him in a court of law and that he has the right to an attorney.
At some point during the questioning, Defendant said he wanted an attorney and the questioning stopped. Shortly thereafter he was placed under arrest and transported to the Embreeville State Police barracks. On the way to the barracks, Clifford and another trooper said Defendant said, “OK, you’ve got me. I put the device there.”
Defendant allegedly used a homemade fire-starting device, matches taped to a cigarette, at the scene of an attempted arson Aug. 8 on the porch of a house in the first block of Helen Street.
Clifford said he told Defendant that whatever additional statement he wished to make would have to be given when he got to the station and the recording equipment was set up.
Clifford said when they arrived at the station, Defendant was read his Miranda rights again and the interview was recorded.
But when Defendant took the stand he said he had drunk 15 beers the day the police picked him up. He said that when he got in the police car after being questioned in Coatesville and told them that he wanted to talk to his lawyer, the troopers told him “if he cooperated, it would be a lot easier on him.’
“I said, ‘I’ll cooperate if you guarantee me a lighter sentence,’” Defendant said.
The defense’s claim is the confession should be suppressed because Defendant was too drunk to knowingly waive his rights when he was read the Miranda warnings. The confession should also be suppressed because the troopers were not allowed to speak to him about the case once he said he wanted an attorney and the troopers were not allowed to make promises.
Under the law, once a suspect says he wishes to speak to an attorney, police can no longer question him unless the suspect on his own reinitiates the conversation. Police can also not make promises, said Assistant District Attorney Carlos Barraza.
Barraza questioned Defendant and said that if he was so heavily intoxicated that he was slurring his speech and had glassy eyes, Judge Thomas Gavin would see that on the videotaped statements.
Barrazza said it was more likely that Defendant was scared when the troopers told him that they were searching his house and they had found DNA evidence at the Helen Street arson scene. And that was why in the car he had confessed to the troopers.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Gavin took the two taped interviews and said he would look at them and make a decision.
Last summer, Coatesville and surrounding areas were in the grip of a wave of arsons that at its peak would include more than 70 arsons since early 2008. At that time the Pennsylania State Police were investigating the arsons. It wasn’t until January 2009 that the Chester County Arson Task Force was formed. Several men, including former Coatesville firefighter Robert Tracey Jr., are in custody and are suspects in connection with some of the Coatesville fires.
Ciccarelli Lawyers fight for their clients and our experienced had recognizing civil rights infractions and police abuse that can be subject to suppression motion or writ of habeas corpus. Speak to a criminal defense attorney who can confidentially discuss your case and the best way to fight the case to get the results you need. Contact us today at (610) 925-2500
