State v. KnightState v. Knight
The question for resolve on this appeal is whether the trial court erred in suppressing all of the defendant/appellee’s admissions where some were made before and some after law enforcement authorities held out certain inducements to the defendant. We hold the court erred in suppressing all of the defendant’s admissions since some were made prior to any inducements and were thereby severable. We reverse.
The relevant facts are these:
On October 31, 1974, the defendant was taken into custody by Detective Grimes of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office regarding suspected larceny of a tractor tire. While in custody and after being advised of his “Miranda” rights, the defendant was questioned by the detective. The defendant acknowledges the interrogation was conducted in two separate interviews. During the first of these the defendant admitted purchasing and selling the tire in question. Some two hours after this admission, he agreed to act as a narcotics purchaser for the Sheriff’s Department. The defendant did so act and claims to have understood that by lending such assistance to the law enforcement authorities there would be no further problem relative to his suspected involvement with the stolen tire. Thereafter, the defendant made further incriminating statements in which he admitted that at the time he received the tractor tire he had knowledge that a friend of his had stolen it.
Subsequently, the defendant was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property in violation of
There is competent substantial evidence that some of the defendant’s statements were made after certain inducements to the defendant by the authorities. To this extent, the trial judge was correct in suppressing these statements as being involuntary since he found they were made after inducements to the effect that charges against the defendant would be dropped. See State v. Chorpenning, Fla.App.2d 1974,
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.