OPINION
{1} Defendant Aaron Martinez appeals his convictions of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Martinez contends that the trial court erred in admitting his pre-arrest statements to police. We conclude that the trial court properly admitted these statements because Martinez knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right against self-incrimination. Martinez also contends that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of his involvement in a prior shooting. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this evidence to show consciousness of guilt. We affirm Martinez’s convictions.
I. Facts
{2} On the morning of March 10, 1995, the police found the bodies of April Jaramillo and James Morgan in Morgan’s car. Both Jaramillo and Morgan had been shot with a .25 caliber gun. On the same morning, the police found the body of Hector Aponte in a separate location. Aponte had been killed with a shotgun.
{3} The police connected the .25 caliber gun responsible for the deaths of Jaramillo ■ and Morgan with a prior shooting incident involving Martinez. As a result, the police picked up Martinez from his apartment for questioning regarding the three murders. The police told Martinez’s mother, who was present at the apartment, that he was being questioned about a shoplifting incident, though the police later informed Martinez on the way to the police station that the interview would not concern shoplifting. During questiоning, Martinez told police that he sold drugs for Pedro Gonzales and that Jaramillo and her boyfriend, Aponte, both owed Gonzales money for drugs. He also told police, after several changes to his story, that he gave his .25 caliber gun to Francisco Cuellar the night before the killings and instructed Cuellar to collect the drug money from Jaramillo and Morgan. Throughout the interview, Martinez denied killing Jaramillo, Morgan, and Aponte.
{4} The police also questioned Martinez about the prior shooting incident involving the .25 caliber gun. Martinez originally told police that on February 22, 1995, about two and a half weeks before the killings, Marvin Sandoval drove past Martinez’s house and shot at him but Martinez did not return fire. Further into the questioning, howеver, and after being confronted with a ballistics report from a bullet extracted from one of Marvin Sandoval’s tires, Martinez acknowledged that he returned fire at Sandoval with his .25 caliber gun.
{5} Following Martinez’s first interview, the police consulted with the district attorney’s office and decided to interview Martinez a second time due to the exclusion of Martinez’s mother from the first interview. Martinez’s mother attended the second interview, and Martinez gave a substantially similar statement to the police.
{6} At trial, the State introduced both of Martinez’s statements to the police, including Martinez’s responses to questions about the earlier shooting incident involving Marvin Sandoval. In addition, a police officer testified fоr the State that he removed a bullet from Marvin Sandoval’s tire, and another officer testified that the bullet matched the bullets responsible for the deaths of Jaramillo and Morgan.
{7} In addition, the State introduced evidence concerning the circumstances surrounding the killings. Several witnesses testified, in accordance with Martinez’s own statements to police, that Jaramillo and Aponte owed Pedro Gonzales money for drugs and that Martinez sold drugs for Gonzales. In addition, Martinez told police that he and Gonzales went to Aponte’s residence on March 9, 1995, the night preceding the killings, in order to get the drug money. Three witnesses confirmed this information. The same three witnesses, one of whom was Aponte’s neighbor at the time and had not previously seen Martinez and one of whom was Martinez’s cousin, also testified that Martinez had a sawed-off shotgun underneath his coat at that time that became visible because Martinez accidentally dropped it. Martinez had maintained throughout both interviews with police that he did not have a shotgun at Aponte’s house.
{8} The State introduced evidence that Aponte died from a single shotgun wound to the upper left arm and chest on the morning of March 10, 1995. The State linked Aponte’s and Jaramillo’s killings by their relationship, by the fact that both owed drug money to Gonzales, by the date of their deaths, and by the weapons used to kill them, showing that Gonzales and Martinez had the .25 caliber gun аnd a shotgun at Aponte’s residence and that both guns were seen together at the home of Louis Montoya, another cousin of Martinez, after the killings. In addition, police found Aponte’s wallet, with his driver’s license, in Morgan’s car during the investigation into the shooting of Jaramillo and Morgan.
{9} Additionally, with respect to the conspiracy charge, the State introduced evidence that Martinez entered into an agreement with Cuellar to Idll Jaramillo and Morgan. Martinez told police that, when he and Gonzales met Cuellar on the night of the killings, Martinez gave his .25 caliber gun to Cuellar and instructed Cuellar to get the drug money from Jaramillo and Morgan because the latter “always had tools and stuff.” Martinez denied in his poliсe interviews that he instructed Cuellar to kill Jaramillo and Morgan.
{10} The State also introduced evidence that Cuellar intentionally killed Jaramillo and Morgan. Witnesses placed Cuellar at Morgan’s motor home during the early morning hours of March 10, 1995. In addition, a witness testified that Cuellar left with Jaramillo and Morgan in Morgan’s car near the established time of death. Further, police found Cuellar’s fingerprint in the backseat of Morgan’s ear. Finally, a witness testified that Cuellar bragged about killing Jaramillo and Morgan in exchange for drugs from Gonzales.
{11} A jury found Martinez guilty of trafficMng a controlled substance, see NMSA 1978, § 30-31-20 (1990), conspiracy to commit trafficMng, see NMSA 1978, § 30-28-2 (1979), tampering with evidence, see NMSA 1978, § 30-22-5 (1963), conspiracy to commit tampering, see § 30-28-2, the first degree murder of Aponte, see NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1 (1994), and conspiracy to commit the murders of Jaramillo and Aponte, see § 30-28-2. Martinez appeals only the latter two convictions, contending that the trial court erred in admitting his statements to the police and erred in admitting evidence of the prior shooting incident involving Marvin Sandoval.
II. Statements to Police
{12} Martinez argues that the trial court should have excluded his statements to the police because the State failed to demonstrate that Martinez knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his constitutional right against self-incrimination. Specifically, Martinez contends that the statements should have been suppressed due to Martinez’s age at the time of the statements, the faсt that the police excluded his mother from the first interrogation by misleading her about the subject of the interview, and the fact that, although Martinez answered questions after being advised of his rights, the police did not obtain an express waiver of rights, either oral or written, from Martinez. We disagree.
{13} The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, see Malloy v. Hogan,
{14} In response to a defendant’s motion to suppress a statement made to police, the State bears the burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived the constitutional right against self-incrimination. See Colorado v. Connelly,
{15} On appeal,
we accept the factual findings of the district court unless they are clearly erroneous, and view the еvidence in the light most favorable to the district court’s ruling. The ultimate determination of whether a valid waiver of Fifth Amendment rights has occurred, however, is a question of law which we review de novo.
United States v. Toro-Pelaez,
A. Applicability of the Children’s Code
{16} Martinez argues that the provisions of the Children’s Code governing statements to the police by delinquent children apply to his statements because he was seventeen years old at the time of the questioning. See NMSA 1978, § 32A-2-14(C) to - 14(E) (1993) (requiring that a delinquent child be advised of the child’s constitutional rights and give a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of rights prior to being interrogated; requiring the State to prove a valid waiver of rights prior to admission of a statement at trial; and outlining the factors a court should consider in determining whether the State sufficiently proves a valid waiver). The State contends, on the other hand, that Section 32A-2-14(D) applies only to “a delinquent child,” see NMSA 1978, § 32A-2-3(B) (1993, prior to 1995 & 1996 amendments) (defining a delinquent child as “a child who has committed a delinquent act”), and that Martinez is a serious youthful offender, Section 32A-2-3(H) (defining serious youthful offender). The State therefore contends that Section 32A-2-14 does not apply because the Legislature has specifically provided that a serious youthful offender “is not a delinquent child.” Section 32A-2-3(H).
{17} Section 32A-2-3(H) defines a serious youthful offender as “an individual sixteen or seventeen years of age who is charged with and indicted or bound over for trial for first degree murder.” The State charged Martinez with first degrеe murder and a grand jury indicted him for that crime. Thus, the State correctly identifies Martinez as a serious youthful offender. However, at the time the police questioned Martinez, he had neither been charged with nor indicted for first degree murder. Indeed, the purpose of the police interview was to determine Martinez’s level of involvement, if any, in the three killings. If the police had surmised that Martinez committed only the crime of conspiracy or, for example, second degree murder, he would have been considered a delinquent child even after being charged and indicted. See Section 32A-2-3(C) (defining a delinquent offender), (I) (defining a youthful offender). Thus, we agree with Martinez that the provisions of Section 32A-2-14(E) guide our inquiry concerning the validity of Martinez’s waiver of his constitutional rights.
{18} Nonetheless, we recognize that the application of Section 32A-2-14 to the statement of a juvenile makes little practical difference in evaluating a waiver of rights by a juvenile over the age of fourteen. See § 32A-2-14(F) (providing that statements by a juvenile under the age of thirteen are inadmissible and that “there is a rebuttable presumption that any confessions, statements or admissions made by a child thirteen or fourteen years old to a person in a position of authority are inadmissible”). For juveniles over the age of fourteen and in contrast to Section 32A-2-14(F), Section 32A-2-14(E) provides that,
[i]n determining whether the child knowingly, intelligently аnd voluntarily waived the child’s rights, the court shall consider ' the following factors:
(1) the age and education of the respondent;
(2) whether or not the respondent is in custody;
(3) the manner in which the respondent was advised of his rights;
(4) the length of questioning and circumstances under which the respondent was questioned;
(5) the condition of the quarters where the respondent was being kept at the time he was questioned;
(6) the time of day and the treatment of the respondent at the time that he was questioned;
(7) the mental and physical condition of the respondent at the time that he was questioned; and
(8) whether or not the respondent had the counsel of an attorney, friends or relatives at the time of being questioned.
Contrary to Martinez’s contention that these factors establish a heightened protection for statements by juveniles, we have previously recognized that “[tjhis list is essentially a codification of the totality-of-circumstances test” applied in evaluating a waiver of constitutional rights by an adult, though emphasizing some of the circumstances that may be particularly relevant for a juvenile, such as the presence of a relative or friend. State v. Setser,
B. Validity of the Waiver of Rights
{19} The State does not dispute that the police interviews in this case constituted custodial interrogations invoking the protectiоns of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Thus, we must determine the validity of Martinez’s waiver of rights. Martinez contends that the State failed to satisfy its burden of establishing a knowing and voluntary waiver because he did not expressly waive his rights. Martinez misapprehends the State’s burden. In North Carolina v. Butler,
{20} Martinez also contends that the police prevented a knowing and voluntary waiver of rights by excluding his mother from the first interview by way of deception. Although Section 32A-2-14(E)(8) directs courts to consider the presence or absence of an attorney, friend, or relative at the questioning, that is merely one of the factors relevant in determining the validity of a waiver of rights, and the Legislature has not established a requirement that parents be notified about a custodial intеrrogation of their juvenile child. Similarly, as a constitutional matter, “[t]here is no due process requirement that the juvenile’s parents be notified for the waiver to be valid____ Rather, the lack of parental notification is one factor to consider in the totality of the circumstances.” United States v. Doe,
{21} Reviewing the totality of circumstances surrounding the custodial interrogations in this case, we conclude that the State satisfied its burden of demonstrating a valid waiver. In determining a knowing and intelligent waiver of rights, we ascertain whether Martinez was fully aware of the nature of the right he was waiving and the consequences of abandoning the right. For this inquiry, we apply sеveral of the factors listed in Section 32A-2-14(E): Martinez’s age and education at the time of questioning, the manner in which he was advised of his rights, the length and time of day of the questioning, his mental and physical condition at the time of questioning, and the presence of counsel or a relative. We begin with a review of Martinez’s waiver of rights at the first interrogation.
{22} At the time of questioning, Martinez was seventeen and a half years of age and was, thus, old enough to comprehend Miranda warnings and the consequences of waiving his rights. State v. Jonathan M.,
{23} While Martinez did not expressly waive his right against self-incrimination, we believe this course of conduct indicates an implied waiver of rights by Martinez. Additionally, even though Martinez did not have a relative present, the totality of circumstances clearly indicate that Martinez fully understood the nature of his rights and the consequences of his waiver. We therefore conclude that Martinez knowingly and intelligently waived his right against self-incrimination. Cf. Conner v. State,
{24} We next address whether Martinez voluntarily waived his rights or whether it was a product of intimidation, coercion, or deception by the police. Martinez contends that the custodial surroundings of the interview with six officers in the room created an unduly coercive environment. However, viewing the evidence in the light mоst favorable to the district court’s ruling, it appears that only two officers, including Detective Schaller, directly questioned Martinez and that the other four officers came in and out of the room to inform Detective Schaller of the events occurring in interviews with other suspects in the case. In addition, Detective Schaller and Martinez’s mother testified that he had numerous previous contacts with law enforcement, which would have made the surroundings much less intimidating. Cf. Fare,
{25} Additionally, it is clear that Martinez’s waiver of rights in the second interrogation was constitutionally valid. In addition to the circumstances present for the first interrogation, Martinez had considerable time, approximately three weeks, to reflect on his decision to speak to police by the time of the second interrogation. The police again fully advised Martinez of his Miranda rights during the second interview. Also, unlike the first interrogation, Martinez’s mother attended the second interrogation and apparently encouraged Martinez to cooperate with police. Finally, there is no evidence that Martinez’s second waiver was the product of coercion. In fact, in terminating the interview, Martinez exercised his right against self-incrimination by telling the police that he did not want to answer any additional questions. Thus, we are convinced by the totality of circumstances that Martinez knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his rights in the second interrogation. Further, because the first interrogation was not a product of coercion,
2
any possible infirmity in the first interrogation would not taint the valid waiver Martinez gave at the second interrogation. See Oregon v. Elstad,
III. Admissibility of Evidence of the Prior Shooting Incident
{26} Martinez contends that, under Rule 11-404(B) NMRA 1999 and Rule 11-403 NMRA 1999, the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of the prior shooting incident involving Marvin Sandoval. In its answer brief, the State argued that Martinez’s statements to police regarding the prior shooting were admissible to provide context to the jury concerning the reasons police began to suspect Martinez’s involvement in the killings. In addition, the State argued that the evidence was properly admitted because, due to Martinez’s inconsistent answers to police about firing his gun at Sandoval’s car and the fact that the same gun was used to kill Jaramillo and Morgan, the statements demonstrated a consciousness of guilt. The State abandoned these claims at oral argument, conceding that the admission of the evidence was еrroneous, and focused its position, instead, on the claim that the error was harmless. Nonetheless, as the Court of Appeals has previously discussed, see State v. Maes,
{27} Rule 11-404(B) provides that
[e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, oрportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake or accident.
(Emphasis added). The list of permissible uses of evidence of other "wrongs in Rule 11-404(B) is intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive, and evidence of other wrongs may be admissible on alternative relevant bases so long as it is not admitted to prove conformity with character. See, e.g., State v. Peters,
{28} The State asserted in its brief-in-chief that the evidence of the prior shooting incident was admissible to show the jury the basis for initial police suspicion of Martinez’s involvement in the killings. We have not previously recognized the basis for police suspicion of a defendant as a relevant non-character use of other crimes, wrongs, or acts under Rule 11-404(B), and we decline to do so in this case. See United State v. Taylor,
{29} The State also contended that the evidence of the prior shooting incident demonstrated a consciousness of guilt that is admissible under Rule 11-404(B). We agree. This Court has previously recognized the relevance and admissibility of evidence demonstrating a consciousness of guilt. State v. Trujillo,
{30} In this case, Martinez originally told police that Marvin Sandoval had shot at him but that he had not returned fire. Martinez changed his story after the police informed him that a bullet was found in Marvin Sandoval’s tire shortly after the incident. A change in a defendant’s story to the police may constitute evidence of a consciousness of guilt. See State v. Lujan,
{31} “Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice____” Rule 11 — 403. “The trial court is vested with great discretion in applying Rule [11-403], and it will not be reversed absent an abuse of that discretion.” State v. Chamberlain,
{32} As outlined above, there was a great deal of evidence of Martinez’s involvement in the killings in this case. However, Martinez denied having a shotgun and denied shooting, or agreeing to shoot, any of the victims. The State attempted to impeach Martinez’s denial of involvement by introducing evidence indieating a consciousness of guilt. For example, when confronted with charges of murdering Jaramillo and Aponte, Martinez asked why he was being charged with two counts of murder and told Detective Schaller, “I never killed April [Jaramillo].” Martinez also told his cousin to recant his statement to police that Cuellar had bragged about the killings. Finally, the State introduced another change in story during Martinez’s interview tending to demonstrate a consciousness of guilt: before telling the police that he gave his .25 caliber gun to Cuellar, Martinez initially told police that he gave it to someone else prior to the night of the killings. Thus, the evidence of Martinez’s initial denial of firing back at Marvin Sandoval assisted the State in demonstrating a pattern of Martinez’s behavior indicating a consciousness of guilt.
{33} In addition, the police were able to link the bullets responsible for the deaths of Jaramillo and Morgan with the bullet removed from Marvin Sandoval’s tire as a result of the prior shooting incident. Thus, the jury could reasonably infer from Martinez’s original denial of involvement in the exchange of gunfire with Marvin Sandoval that he was attempting to conceal from police his possession of the .25 caliber gun.
{34} Martinez argues that the evidence of the prior shooting incident had little probative value because he was willing to stipulate at trial that he had the .25 caliber gun prior to the shootings. However, Martinez did not agree to stipulate to changing his story to the police. Martinez’s stipulation would have deprived the jury of a permissible inference of a consciousness of guilt. In any event, the State was not bound to present its ease to the jury through abstract stipulations. Cf. State v. Sarracino,
{35} Additionally, we believe that the trial court did not act unreasonably in concluding that the evidence of the prior shooting did not present a sufficient danger of unfair prejudice to substantially outweigh its probative value. Although the prior shooting incident could have had the impermissible effect of making the jury believe that Martinez had a propеnsity to fire guns at other people, we believe several facts from Martinez’s trial mitigate any potentially unfair prejudice. First, the nature of the prior shooting incident, in which Martinez fired at another after being fired upon, could be interpreted as an act of self-defense by the jury and was, thus, less likely to contribute to the jury’s verdict. Additionally, the State introduced independent evidence that Martinez owned and routinely carried guns and that he distributed drugs for Gonzales on a regular basis, as well as evidence that Martinez demanded drug money from Aponte on the night of the killings while holding a shotgun. The trial court may have reasonably concluded that this other evidence would have a much greater potential for suggesting a violent character in comparison with the evidence of the prior shooting incident involving Marvin Sandoval and that, therefore, the evidence of the prior shooting did not present a substantial danger of unfair prejudice. Cf. State v. Elinski,
IV. Conclusion
{36} We determine that the trial court did not err in admitting Martinez’s statements to police because he knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right against self-incrimination. We also conclude that the trial court did not err in admitting Martinez’s contradictory statements to police regarding his involvement in a prior shooting incident as evidence of a consciousness of guilt. We therefore affirm Martinez’s convictions.
{37} IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. Martinez does not rely on the New Mexico Constitution for his arguments, see N.M. Const, art. II, § 15; we therefore limit our discussion of constitutional principles to the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. See State v. Gomez,
. On appeal, Martinez highlights Detective Schaller’s reference to the death penalty in the first interrogation. However, at the time of the reference, Martinez had already knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights, and Martinez does not argue that this reference rendered the statements themselves involuntary, an issue that was also not preserved below. See State v. Fekete,
. Although the trial court also admitted the testimony of two police officers regarding the prior shooting incident, this testimony was merely cumulative of the police interview with Martinez and, thus, did not have any prejudicial effect on Martinez. See Woodward,