Boubacarr Moussa v. State of Indiana ( 2013 )


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  • Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D),
    this Memorandum Decision shall not be
    regarded as precedent or cited before                                     Sep 09 2013, 5:34 am
    any court except for the purpose of
    establishing the defense of res judicata,
    collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT:                          ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
    PATRICIA CARESS MCMATH                           GREGORY F. ZOELLER
    Marion County Public Defender Agency             Attorney General of Indiana
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    ELLEN H. MEILAENDER
    Deputy Attorney General
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
    BOUBACARR MOUSSA,                                )
    )
    Appellant-Defendant,                      )
    )
    vs.                                )        No. 49A05-1209-CR-449
    )
    STATE OF INDIANA,                                )
    )
    Appellee-Plaintiff.                       )
    APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT
    The Honorable Robert R. Altice, Jr., Judge
    Cause No. 49G02-1107-FB-51058
    September 9, 2013
    MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION
    NAJAM, Judge
    STATEMENT OF THE CASE
    Boubacarr Moussa appeals his conviction for failure to stop after an accident
    causing serious bodily injury, as a Class B felony, following a jury trial. Moussa raises
    two issues on appeal:
    1. Whether he waived his Miranda rights when he was questioned by
    police officers at the hospital.
    2. Whether he voluntarily consented to a blood draw.
    We affirm.
    FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
    Shortly before 3:30 a.m. on July 19, 2011, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police
    Department (“IMPD”) Officer Ryan Archer conducted a routine traffic stop. During the
    stop, Moussa drove his truck into the rear of Officer Archer’s patrol car and pushed it
    into the car he had originally pulled over. Moussa continued driving, but he was found
    hiding in some bushes after his car ran off the road three-quarters of a mile away. A K-9
    unit retrieved Moussa from the bushes, which resulted in some lacerations. Moussa was
    taken to a nearby hospital and treated for his injuries, as was Officer Archer, who
    sustained a concussion and an injury to his leg.
    The doctor who treated Moussa allowed IMPD Sergeant Michael Duke, a DUI
    Unit Supervisor, to speak to Moussa while the hospital staff examined him. Sergeant
    Duke advised Moussa of his Miranda rights and questioned him about the crash. Moussa
    acknowledged that he understood his rights and he did not request an attorney. Moussa
    then said that he had been driving home from his brother’s house after having consumed
    2
    three beers, and he claimed that he saw another vehicle hit the police cruiser. Sergeant
    Duke videotaped the interrogation.
    Approximately one hour after Sergeant Duke finished his interview, a second
    officer, IMPD Detective Bruce Wright, a member of the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team,
    interrogated Moussa and videotaped his interrogation. Detective Wright awoke Moussa
    to interview him. Detective Wright advised Moussa of his Miranda rights and Moussa
    responded by stating that he understood his rights. Detective Wright then began to
    question Moussa about the accident and Moussa answered the detective’s questions.
    Consequently, Detective Wright informed Moussa of Indiana’s implied consent law and
    offered Moussa a blood test. Moussa agreed to the test. The result of the blood draw
    showed that Moussa’s blood alcohol content was .23 percent weight per volume, nearly
    three times the legal limit.
    At trial, Moussa filed motions to suppress both his statements and the results of
    the blood test on the grounds that he had not given the statements or consented to the
    blood draw knowingly and voluntarily. The court denied the motions to suppress, and a
    jury found Moussa guilty of a Class B felony failure to stop after an accident causing
    serious bodily injury. This appeal ensued.
    DISCUSSION AND DECISION
    Moussa contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted into
    evidence his statements to the officers and the results of the blood draw. A trial court has
    broad discretion in determining the propriety of admission of evidence. Fulton County
    Comm’rs v. Miller, 
    788 N.E.2d 1284
    , 1286 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). Reversal of the trial
    3
    court’s ruling is warranted only when the court has abused its discretion, and its action is
    clearly erroneous and against the facts and circumstances before it. 
    Id. We will
    not
    reverse the trial court’s admission of evidence absent a showing of prejudice. 
    Id. Issue One:
    Waiver of Miranda Rights
    The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides a privilege
    against self-incrimination during a custodial interrogation. Miranda v. Arizona, 
    384 U.S. 436
    , 461 (1966). Custodial interrogation is “‘questioning initiated by law enforcement
    officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom
    of action in any significant way.’” Palilonis v. State, 
    970 N.E.2d 713
    , 732 (Ind. Ct. App.
    2012) (quoting Zook v. State, 
    513 N.E.2d 1217
    , 1220 (Ind. 1987)).            Neither party
    disputes that Moussa was subjected to custodial interrogation by Sergeant Duke and
    Detective Wright.
    “A waiver of one’s Miranda rights occurs when a defendant, after being advised of
    those rights and acknowledging an understanding of them, proceeds to make a statement
    without taking advantage of those rights.” Crain v. State, 
    736 N.E.2d 1223
    , 1230 (Ind.
    2000). To be admissible, a suspect’s confession must also be voluntarily given. Carter v.
    State, 
    686 N.E.2d 1254
    , 1258 (Ind. 1997). A confession is voluntary if it is the product
    of a rational intellect and not the result of physical abuse, psychological intimidation, or
    deceptive interrogation tactics that have overcome the defendant’s free will. 
    Palilonis, 970 N.E.2d at 732
    .
    Under the United States Constitution, the State must prove by a preponderance of
    the evidence that the defendant’s confession was voluntary. Clark v. State, 
    808 N.E.2d 4
    1183, 1191 (Ind. 2004). Under the Indiana Constitution, when the defendant challenges
    the admissibility of a confession, the State must show voluntariness beyond a reasonable
    doubt. 
    Id. The voluntariness
    of a defendant’s confession is determined from the totality
    of the circumstances. Washington v. State, 
    808 N.E.2d 617
    , 622 (Ind. 2004).
    There is no evidence to support the suggestion that Moussa talked to police
    because of coercion, threat, or improper influence. Instead, Moussa argues that he could
    not have knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his Fifth Amendment rights
    because he did not understand his rights due to his injuries, the distractions of the hospital
    staff, and having been awakened immediately before the second interview. We will
    address each argument in turn.
    In Palilonis, the court held that the defendant’s statements to police were
    admissible despite recently sustaining injuries from being beaten 
    up. 970 N.E.2d at 733
    .
    The court reasoned that the defendant incurred only superficial scratches and bruises and
    did not suffer any head trauma that would have affected his decision making. 
    Id. As stated
    above, each of Moussa’s interviews was recorded. The video-tapes show that
    Moussa was in discomfort during the interviews. He had sustained bite wounds and other
    puncture wounds, and he was wearing a C-collar. Nevertheless, nothing in the recording
    suggests Moussa had suffered any head trauma that would have affected his awareness of
    the interview or his decision making. The injuries Moussa sustained did not prevent him
    from hearing, understanding the interrogators, and cooperating with the questioning.
    The parties agree that Moussa was likely on some type of pain medication during
    the interviews. But our supreme court has consistently held that statements are not
    5
    inadmissible per se when a suspect is intoxicated; they are only inadmissible because of
    intoxication when the suspect is so intoxicated that he is unaware of what he is saying or
    the intoxication has produced a state of mania in the suspect. See e.g., Wilkes v. State,
    
    736 N.E.2d 227
    , 231 (Ind. 2000); Luckhart v. State, 
    736 N.E.2d 227
    , 2331 (Ind. 2000).
    Here, our review of the video recordings do not suggest that Moussa was in a state of
    mania or that he was so intoxicated that he was unaware of what he was saying. Moussa
    responded to his interviewers often by taking a few seconds to think through and
    formulate his answers.      He even corrected misstatements made by himself and the
    officers during the interviews. Thus, Moussa’s statements are not inadmissible due to his
    injuries or intoxication.
    Concerning the commotion in the hospital room, we first note that Moussa does
    not demonstrate how a busy room might rise to the level of a coercive environment and
    negate an otherwise valid waiver of one’s Miranda rights. As such, he has waived this
    argument. Further, Sergeant Duke asked and received permission from the hospital staff
    to speak to Moussa. At one point in the video recording, a nurse asked Sergeant Duke to
    interview Moussa on the other side of his bed so that she would not interfere with the
    interview. Thus, there is no indication that the medical personnel working with Moussa
    believed that their work would interfere with the interview, and the video evidence shows
    that Moussa was able to concentrate during the interrogation despite the activity in the
    hospital room and the medical treatment being administered to him.
    Finally, the fact that Moussa was aroused from sleep before the second interview
    does not negate the voluntariness of his statements. For example, in Powell v. State, 437
    
    6 N.E.2d 969
    , 971 (Ind. 1982), our supreme court held that a confession was voluntary
    even though the defendant had been awakened and then interrogated.                                     Powell is
    controlling here. The video shows that Moussa was alert during the interview and able to
    answer questions coherently. Thus, under the totality of the circumstances Moussa’s
    statements were voluntarily made, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it
    admitted his statements into evidence.
    Issue Two: Blood Draw
    Moussa also contends that the trial court erred when it admitted into evidence the
    result of his blood draw because Moussa did not voluntarily give his consent to the blood
    draw. A blood draw under our implied consent laws is a search for purposes of the
    Fourth Amendment. Copas v. State, 
    891 N.E.2d 663
    , 664 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). In
    general, the Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless searches. 
    Hannoy, 789 N.E.2d at 982
    . Searches conducted without a warrant are per se unreasonable subject to a few well-
    delineated exceptions. 
    Id. One recognized
    exception to the warrant requirement is a
    voluntary and knowing consent to search.1 Meyers v. State, 
    790 N.E.2d 169
    , 172 (Ind.
    Ct. App. 2003); Krise v. State, 
    746 N.E.2d 957
    , 961 (Ind. 2001).
    1
    The presence of exigent circumstances is similarly a well-established exception to the warrant
    requirement. The reasonableness of a warrantless search under the exigent circumstances exception is evaluated
    based upon the totality of the circumstances. Missouri v. McNeely, 
    133 S. Ct. 1552
    , 1557 (2013). The State has the
    burden to prove exigent circumstances justify a warrantless search. 
    Id. at 1567
    In Schmerber v. California, 
    384 U.S. 757
    , 771 (1966), the Court recognized that the human body’s natural metabolic process, which causes the
    dissipation of alcohol in the blood over time, is an exigent circumstance for the purpose of warrantless searches.
    The Court went on to find that the dissipation of alcohol, combined with the defendant being involved in a serious
    accident and needing to be taken to a hospital for treatment, and the time needed for police to investigate the scene
    of the crash, established exigent circumstances necessary for a warrantless search. 
    Id. As in
    Schmerber, Moussa
    was involved in a serious accident. The police had to investigate the scene of the crash and secure the scene where
    Moussa’s vehicle went off the road. Further, Moussa required medical care and was transported to the hospital and
    treated for injuries before he could be interviewed. Nonetheless, because Moussa consented to the search, we need
    not decide this issue.
    7
    When the State seeks to rely upon consent to justify a warrantless search, it
    has the burden of proving that the consent was freely and voluntarily given.
    The voluntariness of this consent to search is a question of fact to be
    determined from the totality of the circumstances. A consent to search is
    valid unless it is procured by fraud, duress, fear, or intimidation, or where it
    is merely a submission to the supremacy of the law. To constitute a valid
    waiver of Fourth Amendment rights, a consent must be the intelligent
    relinquishment of a known right or privilege. Such a waiver cannot be
    conclusively presumed from a verbal expression of assent unless the court
    determines, from the totality of the circumstances, that the verbal assent
    reflected an understanding, uncoerced, and unequivocal election to grant
    the officers a license the person knows may be freely and effectively
    withheld. Knowledge of the right to refuse a search is one factor that
    indicates voluntariness. Meyers v. State, 
    790 N.E.2d 169
    , 172 (Ind. 2003).
    The totality of the circumstances from which the voluntariness of a
    detainee’s consent is to be determined includes, but is not limited to, the
    following considerations: 1) whether the defendant was advised of his
    Miranda rights prior to the request to search; 2) the defendant’s education
    and intelligence; 3) whether the defendant was advised of his right not to
    consent; 4) whether the defendant has had previous encounters with law
    enforcement; 5) whether the officer claimed authority to search without
    consent; 6) whether the officer was engaged in any illegal action prior to
    the request; 7) whether the defendant was cooperative previously; and 8)
    whether the officer was deceptive as to his true identity or the purpose of
    the search. 
    Id. Under Indiana
    Code Section 9-30-6-2, a law enforcement officer with probable
    cause to believe that a person has operated a vehicle while intoxicated shall offer a
    chemical test to that person, and the person must submit to that test to comply with the
    law. Similarly, under Indiana Code Section 9-30-7-3, an officer shall offer a chemical
    test to any person who the officer has reason to believe operated a vehicle involved in a
    fatal or serious bodily injury accident, and the person must submit to that test to comply
    with the law. Under either version of the implied consent law, the person retains the right
    to refuse consent, but doing so carries with it the civil penalty of a license suspension for
    one year or, in some cases, two years. See Ind. Code §§ 9-30-6-7; 9-30-7-5.
    8
    Here, Detective Wright had probable cause to offer Moussa the blood test under
    the implied consent law.     Detective Wright testified that “the odor of an alcoholic
    beverage was extremely strong” in the trauma room where Moussa was being treated. Tr.
    at 224. This testimony, coupled with Moussa’s impaired driving, gave the Detective
    reason to believe Moussa had operated his vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
    Moussa asserts that his consent to the blood test was involuntary because “[a]t the
    time he was advised of the implied consent law he had just been admitted to the hospital
    with serious dog bite injuries, was on pain medication, had been woken from sleep,” and
    simply did not understand the implied consent law. Appellant’s Br. at 8. For the same
    reasons that we find Moussa did, in fact, waive his Miranda rights, we also find that
    Moussa’s injuries, possible intoxication, and having been awakened from sleep did not
    prohibit his voluntary consent to the blood draw.
    Further, the seven-factor test stated in Meyers demonstrates the voluntariness of
    Moussa’s consent. The video recordings show that Detective Wright properly read the
    implied consent law to Moussa. The recordings show that Moussa was fully aware of the
    interview taking place and agreed to the offer of a blood draw from Detective Wright.
    Detective Wright even repeated the implied consent law advisement so that Moussa
    would hear it all the way through without interruption.
    Moussa grew up in Niger and completed the equivalent of a high school education.
    He was self employed and denied ever having been fired from a job. Moussa has been
    arrested multiple times and he has one prior conviction. Thus, Moussa has had previous
    interaction with law enforcement officers. The record does not indicate that Detective
    9
    Wright made any express or implied claims of authority to search without Moussa’s
    consent, was engaged in any illegal action prior to the request, or was deceptive as to his
    true identity or the purpose of the search.       The video-tape shows that Moussa was
    cooperative during the encounter.       Thus, under the totality of the circumstances,
    Moussa’s consent to the blood draw was voluntary and uncoerced.
    Conclusion
    Moussa voluntarily made statements to the officers and consented to the blood
    draw. We hold that the trial court did not err when it admitted the evidence at trial.
    Affirmed.
    MATHIAS, J., and BROWN, J., concur.
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